To Hear Your Voice Again
by FastForward
Summary: Set 2 to 3 years after chapter 304. Team 7 is off to retrieve what is theirs, but what happens when Naruto loses what is most precious to him? No pairings.
1. Bad Feeling

**Hola! I am back! Be afraid, be very afraid! AHAHAHAHAHA :cough, hack, choke, die: Yeah... Welcome back, to those of you who have encountered my insanity before. And, welcome, to those of you who have not :evil grin:  
Anywho, new story up, but gotta set some things straight. **

**First, I do not even pretend I know any Japanese. Therefore, if suffixes are used wrong, I am incredibly sorry. Since this is supposed to be set a few years after chapter 304, I had to keep it in its Japanese form. So, there's Japanese words and suffixes, but excuse me if I butcher them all :sweatdrop: Also, bear in mind I have set this after 304, so anything that happens after that is all null and void, including--well, everything. You can have fun making up the in-between of chapter 304 and my fic :grins: **

**Second, after careful consideration, I have decided that: No pairings.  
****There are many reasons for this decision, the two most important ones being as follows:**

**1) No matter how good a fic is, some people (myself included, and a few of my friends) just can't sit through it if they don't like the pairing. It happens to me a lot when I read Gundam Wing fics because the only people I can ever see Duo and Heero with are Duo and Heero. So, I've decided that instead of turning this into a SasuNaru, or a NaruHina, or an anything, I will just leave it alone and have no pairings. (Except some one-sided Oro, cause we all know this happens.)**

**2) In the anime/manga, there are hints, I will admit to this, but there's also a lot of triangles and squiggly lines that go all over the place so that you're never really sure what exactly will happen, nor do you necessarily know what you WANT to happen (My example: Shikamaru and Ino, or Shikamaru and Temari. I have still not decided, and it drives me insane). **

**So, with that in mind, I apologize for those of you looking for hot, steamy yaoi, het, or even just plain making out on the people's parts. It might happen between random characters I make up, but chances are, not likely. I'm very sorry if this is unsatisfactory. **

**Disclaimer: As you all know, I do not own anyone from Naruto, not evenKiba. But that will change before the end of this fic, rest assured! Kiba _will_ be mine!

* * *

**

**To Hear Your Voice Again.**

"_There is no index of character so sure as the voice."_ - Benjamin Disraeli

_Prologue: Bad Feeling._

Tsunade stared out the window of Hokage tower, both hands behind her back. The sun was setting, so her appointment should be arriving any minute now.

Truth be told, she didn't want him to arrive. She had a bad feeling about this mission, especially since the two of them had been requested. It wasn't unusual for him to be called out on missions, nor was it unusual for people to request the two of them together. It was just this one mission she felt uncomfortable with.

A sound behind her alerted her to the appearance of her appointment and, sighing, she spun around to face him. He was bent on one knee, his right hand clenched above his heart, his left fist against the ground and his head bowed. She stared at the silver-haired man before her, wearing his ANBU mask, and sighed, sitting in her chair.

"Here's your mission." She held out a scroll as he rose, taking it from her hands. "The two of you were requested."

"Not surprising." the baritone male replied, opening the scroll and scanning it.

Tsunade couldn't help but stare at him worriedly. She had an incredibly bad feeling about this mission. She didn't want this man to leave her office, because he would go collect the other one, and they would leave.

Sensing her gaze, the man looked up. "Hokage-sama?"

"Be careful, Kakashi." she said to him. "I-I have a bad feeling about this mission."

"Bad feeling?"

"Just watch him, all right? Make sure—you both come back safe."

"We've been on countless missions together, Hokage-sama. There is no need to worry. We shall both be fine." He bowed to her before performing a seal and disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Tsunade stood and turned back to her window, looking out at what she'd been staring at before. On the head of the Fourth Hokage sat a solitary figure, staring down at the village. Seconds later, another form joined him and the two of them disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Tsunade turned and clutched her chest, frowning. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.

* * *

"Sakura-san." Haruno Sakura spun around. 

"Hi Lee." The pink-haired woman smiled at her friend. "What brings you here?"

"Sakura-san, Ino has informed me that you haven't returned home for the last week. Not since Naruto-kun and Kakashi-san have left." Sakura's smile fell off her face. It had been fake, anyway, so it hadn't been hard to make it fade. "Naruto-kun will be fine. You must return home. Rest."

"I know." Sakura insisted with a sigh, turning to look at the gates of Konoha. "I know he'll be fine. I just—I can't lose him like I lost Sasuke. He's become—too important." She turned and offered Rock Lee another smile. "He's like an annoying little brother, you know? I can't help but miss him. And worry about him." She clenched her fists, staring at the ground.

Lee let out a sigh and put his hand on her shoulder, understanding how Sakura was feeling. Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura were the closest team in all of Konoha. She was always like this when the other two were away. She worried, and she hated being apart from Naruto.

The two of them had become better friends than anyone had ever imagined they could. They shared an incredibly strong bond. They both knew they were all the other had. After Sasuke had left them, they'd had no choice but to depend on each other. Sakura would never admit it, but the three years Naruto had been gone had been the hardest years of her life. She'd felt as if two of her teammates had abandoned her, even though she knew Naruto had done no such thing.

When he'd returned, they'd bonded and become like brother and sister. Sakura spent most of her nights at Naruto's when she was upset. They wouldn't talk; he would just hold her. Hug her. Tell her someone still loved her, even if it wasn't the kind of love she wanted.

Naruto had grown out of his childish crush long ago, and had focused on being a good ninja. Before, if anyone ever asked Naruto why he wanted to be great, the answer was simple: "I'm going to be the Hokage someday!"

Now, the answer was different.

"I have to be strong. I'm the only one who can save Sasuke. I made a promise—to Sakura-chan. I promised I would bring Sasuke home."

Before anyone knew it, the rookie nine weren't rookies anymore, and the twelve year olds who'd fumbled and screwed up all the time had become seventeen year olds with high-ranking positions. Naruto had the highest, having entered the ANBU. Sakura was next, being just below Shizune and Tsunade in medical. They weren't kids anymore.

"Sakura-san." She turned to look at Lee. "Please, go home tonight."

"I will, Lee." She smiled. "I will, I promise. I just—want to wait a little while longer."

Sakura turned back to the gates in time to see something rushing towards her. She frowned as she realized it was a dog. Lee walked towards the gates, and Sakura followed him, the two watching the dog approach.

"Sakura!"

"Pakkun!" Sakura sprinted through the gates, rushing towards the dog. If Pakkun had been sent, this was bad. "What is it? What happened?.!"

"It was an ambush. Kakashi and Naruto are injured—badly injured."

Sakura's heart stopped beating.

"Sakura-san, you follow Pakkun and help them. I shall get the Hokage and wake Kiba so we can follow the scent." Lee rushed away as Sakura found the will to move, following the dog hurriedly through the trees.

"How far are they?" Sakura asked urgently.

"About two miles out. Kakashi managed to get this far before he collapsed from exhaustion. He was able to summon me and send me to fetch whoever could come." Pakkun looked at Sakura sadly. "It looked bad, Sakura."

"Show me." she said simply, trying to remain calm.

They jumped through a last set of trees and Sakura saw them. Kakashi was still conscious, breathing hard and clutching Naruto tightly to his chest. Neither wore their ANBU masks anymore.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura landed a little ways away and rushed to them.

"Sakura! Naruto, he..." The older man trailed off, breathing hard. He had a deep wound running across his chest from right shoulder to left hip. Blood caked his silver hair and one of his arms had a bone sticking out through the skin.

Sakura bent down beside him but he slapped her hands away. "No! Naruto!"

The girl turned to her other teammate and her eyes widened. He had been clutched against Kakashi's chest, so at first, she'd missed his injuries. He'd only appeared to have a few small wounds on his back, but now that she saw his front, she began to hyperventilate, everything she'd learned medically being thrown out the window.

"Oh my God! Naruto!" She pulled him away from Kakashi and laid the blond on his back, tears stinging her eyes. "Oh God! Oh my God! Naruto, stay with me!"

Forcing herself to calm down, she forced chakra into her hands and brought them to his neck where a huge wound had exposed his entire throat, almost all the way to the bone.

* * *

_Chapter One: How Things Have Become._

**One Year Later.**

Something hit Inuzuka Kiba in the back of the head and he spun around, annoyed. "Ow! Dammit, Naruto, I _told_ you I _don't_ know!"

The ANBU captain cocked a disbelieving eyebrow, crossing his arms. Kiba winced. He knew that stance. He was going to speak, or the other man was going to make him. Sighing, he shook his head.

"Fine! He went to Sand, okay! Sand!" He threw his arms in the air in exasperation.

A year ago, the dog-boy wouldn't have bothered giving in to the blond's annoying tactics at finding out information. Of course, back then, he hadn't been an ANBU captain. And he hadn't had his condition.

Naruto snapped his fingers at Kiba, catching the other man's attention. Shaking his head, Kiba sighed, and continued, "I should've known that wouldn't be enough. Dammit, Naruto, you're going to get me fired." The brunette rubbed the back of his head before looking around to ensure Umino Iruka wasn't anywhere nearby. He then leaned forward, the blond doing the same. "He was given a mission to go see Gaara about a request for assistance in finding Sound's stronghold. I think Tsunade wants to send in a team to get Sasuke before the end of the year. The three-year mark is coming up again, and I don't think we'll be as lucky as last time. This time, nothing will go wrong, and he'll transfer to Sasuke's body."

"Inuzuka!" Both men jumped and turned to look at the door, where Iruka stood with his arms crossed. "You're not giving out mission details _again_, are you?"

"Of course not!" Kiba exclaimed, waving his hands wildly. "I was just discussing the weather! The weather!"

"Don't lie, you're bad at it." Iruka sighed, shaking his head. "Naruto, when Kakashi doesn't tell you where he's going, it's because he isn't _allowed_ to." Naruto began to respond when Iruka stopped him. "Don't give me excuses, you know the rules. And Inuzuka, if you don't stop telling this guy mission details, I'll take you out of this office. Mission assignments are not to be disclosed to anyone other than their recipients, is that understood?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei." Kiba grumbled. "I can understand Naruto's annoyance, though. He's friendlier with Gaara, why wasn't _he_ sent?"

"Because he is needed _here_." Iruka insisted, walking further into the room and placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "It's not a dangerous mission. He'll be back soon."

Naruto merely nodded before smiling brightly at the two of them and exiting the room with a wave. The other two waved back and he closed the door.

Once he'd left, Iruka turned to Kiba, scowling. "You know very well not to disclose information, Kiba."

"I know, but how can I resist when he looks at me like that?.!" Kiba motioned the door the blond had just walked out of with both hands. "It's the eyes. The eyes!"

"Don't fall for his puppy eyes!" Iruka insisted as he grabbed a pile of mission reports and straightened them before putting them in a folder. He looked at Kiba as he tucked the folder under his arm and frowned as he noticed the other man staring down at the table before him, a sad look on his face.

"I miss how he used to be." Kiba whispered. "When he smiles—it never reaches his eyes. He's never happy, not really."

Iruka sighed, sitting down in the chair across from Kiba, placing the folder down on the table.

"We all miss him, Kiba. Too many horrible things have happened in the last few years. You can't blame him for having changed. Especially after—"

"I'm going to go for my break." Kiba stood up, turning and walking out of the room. Iruka sighed, staring down at the folder in front of him.

"You're not the only one who runs away when I bring that up." Iruka whispered to Kiba, even though he knew the other man had left the room. "Kakashi-sensei doesn't like to hear about it, either. He still feels it's his fault."

* * *

Hatake Kakashi stood before the Kazekage, the red-haired man staring out the window. He hadn't said a word since Kakashi had spoken about the Hokage's request. Kakashi suspected it was because Gaara had wanted Naruto to be the one to deliver the message. Naruto had been on a mission, and this was of utmost importance to Tsunade. It wasn't _Kakashi's_ fault. 

"Find Sound." Sabaku no Gaara finally said, turning to look at Kakashi with piercing green eyes. "To rescue Sasuke?"

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

"Why rescue someone who left of their own free will? It would merely be an inconvenience to save someone who does not deserve it, nor does he want it."

"If Orochimaru manages to succeed in transferring bodies, it puts everyone at risk. The Sharingan is a powerful weapon, and in the wrong hands, war will break out throughout the five countries. Do you not remember the chaos Orochimaru caused almost six years ago when he attacked Konoha during the Chuunin exam? He tricked Sand into believing it was the current Kazekage's wish." Gaara stared at Kakashi impassively.

"Saving Sasuke will not hinder Orochimaru's plans. He knows Sasuke will seek him out again, he will merely wait for the boy to return to him."

"This may be so, but if we detain him long enough, the transfer will not occur, and we will be able to buy ourselves another three years, just like last time."

"Why save this boy?" Gaara inquired. "Why not merely kill him? Was he not the one who tried to kill Naruto?"

"Yes." Kakashi replied evenly. "But he is important to our village."

"He is a missing nin." Gaara corrected. "He has been for the last five and a half years. If you have managed to survive this long without him, I am sure his loss will not cause you any inconvenience."

"This is the Hokage's wish." Kakashi stressed. "He will not be treated as a member of Konoha society, and he will not be allowed to leave the village for five years, but he _is_ a valuable asset. He is an important person to our village. And to Naruto."

Kakashi knew that last bit was out of line, and he could get in trouble if Tsunade found out he'd pulled that card—but it was the truth. Everyone wanted Sasuke back, most especially Sakura and Naruto. If pulling the 'this is what Naruto wants' card was the only way for Gaara to agree to help, Kakashi would do it.

"I shall think about it." Gaara finally said. Kakashi suppressed a smirk.

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama." He bowed slightly and turned to leave. He reached the door and was just about to open it, when Gaara spoke again.

"How is Naruto?" Kakashi's hand froze over the knob and he couldn't help but clench his jaw.

"He's doing fine." Kakashi said, his back still to Gaara. "He's beginning to act more like he used to."

"Do not try to fool me with lies, Kakashi." Gaara narrowed his eyes angrily. "Do you think me stupid?"

Kakashi turned back to Gaara, shoving his hands in his pockets. "What do you want me to say? If you know nothing's changed, why ask?.!" He bit his tongue, forcing himself to calm down. He lowered his gaze to the floor. "When he smiles—his eyes always look sad. We all talk about how we miss the way he used to be. How we wish he would go back to that. I don't think anyone realizes that he's the person who wishes that the most."

They both stood in silence for a long while before Gaara turned his back on Kakashi, staring out the window.

"Will Naruto be sent on this retrieval?"

"Yes." Kakashi saw no point in keeping this from Gaara.

"Very well. I shall offer my aid, but only because I want someone more talented backing up Naruto." Kakashi clenched his fists, staring at the floor.

"You think I don't know it was my fault?" Kakashi asked angrily. "You think I'm not aware of the fact that the blow he was hit with was meant for me?"

"I never said you were not aware of it." Gaara turned to face Kakashi. "I am merely saying I will send ninja who do not allow themselves to be put in danger, causing others to come to their aid." He turned his back on Kakashi again. "That is all. Please inform the Hokage of my cooperation."

Kakashi teleported out without bothering to bow.

* * *

"Hey, I heard sensei is back." Kunitoki Hankousha told his two teammates as he hung upside down on a tree-branch. 

"You're lying." Takakura Yurusu insisted as she twirled a kunai between her fingers. "He'd have come to see us by now. Make sure we're training."

"Maybe he's watching us." Yamauchi Nikkou insisted, looking around. "Testing us, you know?" He closed his eyes, putting his hands together, as if in prayer.

"Oh, not again." Hankousha sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Over there!" The redheaded boy threw a kunai in a random direction. All three heard it hit a tree. "Ah, clever. Clever. He moved." Nikkou pulled out another kunai and launched it across the clearing. "Right there!"

Naruto appeared in a cloud of smoke, catching the kunai between his fingers easily. Yurusu's jaw dropped. Hankousha fell out of the tree.

"You were _right_?.! Sensei, you're losing your touch!" the raven girl called to Naruto. He smirked, flipping the kunai in his hand and throwing it back at Nikkou. It landed at the redhead's feet and he bent down to pick it up.

"You were watching us, right?" Hankousha asked as he stood, rubbing his head. "You saw him throwing them in random directions and intercepted one before it hit someone, right?"

Naruto smiled and nodded, ruffling the brunette's hair. Hankousha pulled away from him annoyed.

"Oh, thank God." Yurusu sighed, one hand on her chest. "For a minute there, I thought maybe Nikkou was actually _good_."

"Hey! I _am_ good! I'm a Genin, aren't I?" Nikkou crossed his arms, miffed. Naruto just smiled.

His team reminded him a lot of Team Seven. Nikkou was like him, Yurusu was like Sakura, and Hankousha was like Sasuke—except not as impressive. No one could ever surpass Sasuke at that age. The only people who ever had were Kakashi and Itachi.

"Naruto-sensei?" The blond turned back to Yurusu as she frowned. "You're thinking of the bastard guy again, aren't you?" Naruto smiled, placing his hand on the raven's head and bending down in front of her. "You shouldn't think of him. He's a traitor." Naruto continued to smile. He removed his hand from her head and tapped her nose. Yurusu just shook her head, a smile teasing her lips.

"He's not as cool as you, anyway." Hankousha insisted, crossing his arms. "After all, you became an ANBU at the age of sixteen, and then you got us as your team last year. You must be the only eighteen year old in the entire history of Konoha with his own Genin team."

"And you teach us awesome stuff!" Nikkou added. Hankousha hit him across the back of the head. "Ow!" Yurusu did the same. "Ow! Ow! Stop it!"

"Moron. Now he's going to give us a training schedule!" Hankousha exclaimed annoyed.

They all looked at their sensei, and just as Hankousha said, he smiled at them as he held out three scrolls.

"Aw, man! I hate training." Nikkou whined as he took the scroll with his name. The other two grumbled as they did the same. Naruto then waved and began to walk away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Yurusu asked. "Are we training alone?"

Naruto merely nodded, not answering her first question. He'd gotten back an hour ago, and there was still someone he had to see.

* * *

Naruto walked through the streets, waving at a few people who called out greetings to him, until he reached the hospital. Walking through the front doors, he nodded to the nurses on duty and headed for the stairs. Reaching the third floor, he walked up to an open office door and leaned against the doorframe, smirking at the scene before him. 

"_Please_!" Hibayashi Moegi demanded, her hands pressed together. "Please, Sakura!"

"Moegi, I _can't_ teach you any of this stuff until you're a Chuunin."

"You were a Genin when you learned it all!" Moegi insisted, stomping her foot. "Why can't I become a Medic-nin, too?"

"I didn't say you couldn't, you just need to give it more time."

Naruto knocked lightly on the doorframe and both girls turned to the door, finally noticing he was there. He gave them a wave.

"Naruto-niisan!" Moegi launched herself at him, hugging him tightly around the middle. "How are you? Did you just get back from your mission?" He smiled down at the brunette and patted her head as he nodded. "You're not injured, are you?" She leaned back and poked him in the chest a few times. He merely smiled before catching her hands in his own and shaking his head. "Good. I'll go tell Konohamaru-chan you're back. Ja!" She waved at him and Sakura before running out of the office.

Sakura stood from her seat as Naruto closed the door, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning back against the wall. Without a word, the pink-haired girl walked up to him and began to inspect him for injuries with her eyes, trying not to make it look like she was. Naruto caught her by the chin with two fingers and smiled.

"Don't tell me you're okay." She narrowed her eyes. "I'll kill you."

Naruto let out a small puff of air as a laugh, shaking his head. He held up his hands and began to sign to her.

'_I have no injuries, Sakura-chan. I haven't gotten any for a whole year.'_

Sakura knew this was true. The last injury Naruto had ever received was the one that had left him without a voice.


	2. Healing Wounds

**A/N: My rant at the beginning of the first chapter was too long, so I'm adding this here: Thanks again to the Levianthan for being my beta yet again. You guys have no idea how much I torture her... :sweatdrop: You rock, I heart you.**

**Disclaimer: It's the strangest thing. I was coming home, and Kiba just sort of followed me back here. Of COURSE I didn't bribe him with food. Of COURSE I didn't sneak into K. Masashi's house to get him to follow me in the first place. It was all him, honest. :crosses fingers:**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_Screaming is bad for the voice, but it's good for the heart."_- Conor Oberst

Naruto walked into his apartment and was immediately greeted with the scent of cooking.

"About time you got back, damn moron."

Naruto just smiled as he shook his head, closing the door. For the life of him, he still didn't know why he got dinner cooked for him every day.

A figure walked into the kitchen doorway, a rag in hand. "Well? Aren't you going to apologize or something?"

'_I was on a mission, cut me some slack, will you?'_ he signed as he headed for his room, pulling his shirt off as he went.

"You were off visiting large-forehead, and we both know it!" Yamanaka Ino hollered after him. Naruto just smiled as he entered his room and closed the door.

He didn't know why Ino came over to cook him dinner every day. She'd started doing it when they were sixteen, and he'd never gotten around to asking her why. Maybe she was worried about his health, but who knew?

Naruto threw his shirt into a corner and grabbed his towel, heading for his bathroom to shower. As he entered the small room, his eyes looked anywhere but at the mirror above his sink. He hadn't been able to look in the mirror since his throat had been ripped out. He knew he'd never been one to scar, but it had been an awful wound. To this day, he still didn't know whether or not he had a scar on his neck, and he didn't want to know, either.

The blond showered quickly, the scent of food reaching him even behind the two closed doors of his bedroom and bathroom.

He jumped out of the shower and towelled himself before pulling on a pair of black drawstring pants. With the towel around his neck, he exited his room, rubbing the end of the towel against the back of his head to dry his hair.

"Are you _trying_ to make me drool?" Ino demanded with a fake glare as she put a plate of food on the table.

Naruto grinned at her. _'Sorry, Ino. I always forget how dashingly handsome I am.' _he signed to her.

"How you can forget is beyond me with the group of fangirls you've picked up over the years."

Naruto plopped down in his seat and slapped his hands together, his new way of saying 'Itadakimasu' since he could no longer yell it out. He began eating shortly after, Ino sitting across from him with her own plate.

Naruto's appearance had changed drastically over the years, most notably during the last one. He'd lost all of his baby fat for muscle, looking particularly yummy to every pair of female eyes whenever he didn't have a shirt on. His tanned abdomen rippled with a six-pack, and his upper chest was so well toned one would think a sculptor had visited Naruto while he slept and carved it out. His shoulders were strong and broad, and his arms were muscular. His face was long and lean, having lost all of the baby fat that gave him a round face, and his whisker marks had faded to a point where they were almost invisible. His blond hair had grown, falling shaggily around his face and into his eyes, which were still an intense blue.

He was a walking God, and not a single person would ever refute it.

But, of course, he was still the demon vessel. Nothing had changed between him and the general populace. Girls would admit he was good looking, but they would still stay away from him and call him a monster. He'd learned long ago not to care. He had friends, and even if they were few, they were enough.

Heck, his Genin's parents had specifically asked for Naruto to train their children, and always acted kindly towards the blond ANBU Captain. A few people had changed their minds about the demon vessel, but for the most part, nothing had really changed.

A knock at the door interrupted the comfortable silence between the two blonds and Ino stood up to answer it. No one stood there when she opened the door, so they both immediately knew who it was.

Ino stayed by the door and Naruto calmly tilted his head slightly to the left just in time for a kunai to fly past it and embed itself into the wall.

"Just as I'd expect from my eternal rival!"

"Dammit, Konohamaru!" Ino hollered from the door, waving her fist angrily at the Chuunin perched on the windowsill. "You're going to actually hit him one day! Why do you always aim for his head?.!"

"If I hit him, he has no right to be an ANBU Captain! He agrees with me. Right, boss?" Naruto just smirked down at his plate, his back still to Saito Konohamaru. "Oh yeah, he agrees."

"Konohamaru-chan." Moegi appeared beside the Chuunin, causing a girlish shriek to emit from him.

Ino burst out laughing. Naruto just smirked, shaking his head before turning to look at the fifteen year old.

'_Chuunin?'_

"Shut up!" Konohamaru insisted as he jumped into the apartment, Moegi following suit.

"Konohamaru-chan, sensei will get angry if he doesn't find you at the training grounds." Moegi reminded her teammate.

"Who cares about sensei?" Konohamaru waved his hand about irritably. "How was your mission, boss?"

The blond shrugged before turning back to his plate and continuing to eat, much to Konohamaru's annoyance.

The Chuunin sat down in the seat adjacent to the ANBU Captain, the chair turned backwards so that he could rest his hands on the back, his chin resting on top of them. Ino closed the door and took her seat again as Moegi took the last remaining seat across from Konohamaru. Nobody spoke, Konohamaru staring at Naruto, Moegi staring at Konohamaru, and the two blonds staring down at their respective plates.

As if on cue, there was another knock at the door two minutes later, and Konohamaru jumped out of his seat as if he'd been burned.

"Shit, I'm not here!" The Chuunin ran down the corridor, disappearing into the guest room and slamming the door behind himself. Moegi just rolled her eyes as she stood up and answered the door.

"Hey, Udon. Sensei."

"Hello, Moegi." A smooth tenor replied as its owner walked into the apartment. Naruto simply raised a hand in greeting to Team Nine's sensei. "Hello, Naruto. Ino. How was your mission, Naruto?"

The blond just shrugged, continuing to eat. He was used to this. It happened every time he returned from a long mission. Everyone somehow found themselves at his place and he spent the entire night having to make sure drunk people didn't break things while sober people proceeded to bombard him with questions on the missions he couldn't tell them details about.

"Long time no see." Ino said as she spun around in her chair, smirking. "Not hiding, are you?"

The raven boy glared at Ino as he closed the door, Udon and Moegi having retreated to the living room.

"As a matter of fact, I've been busy."

"_Sure_." Ino smirked. "The fact that Urama Hiroko is in love with you has _nothing_ to do with you disappearing all the time."

Baikan Sai shuddered visibly before looking around the kitchen, as if he was worried said girl would randomly jump out and attach herself to him. He only had one stalker, and he was grateful, but the girl was damn persistent!

The door opened and closed without a knock being heard, Sakura walking easily through the apartment, headed for Naruto's guest room.

"Hey, Ino-pig."

"Large-forehead." Ino greeted as Sakura opened the door to the guest room, a shriek emitting from within.

"Out, Konohamaru. Sai knows you're here anyway. And if he didn't, the shriek informed him." Konohamaru was promptly shoved out of the room and the door closed with a slam.

"You know, it's a wonder why Sakura doesn't just become your roommate. She has practically everything she owns here, anyway." Ino commented, looking at Naruto. "Heck, I almost never see her, and I _am_ her roommate." Naruto just shrugged.

In reality, he knew why she wasn't his roommate. He wouldn't let her be. He couldn't stop her from coming over and staying the night, this was true, but he didn't want her actually _living_ with him. He didn't want people to think they were dating or anything and treat her horribly because of it. He _was_ a monster, after all.

"Konohamaru." Sai said sternly.

"Hai, sensei!" The Chuunin exclaimed in his most respectful tone, as if trying to diminish his punishment.

"I'll have a new training schedule ready for you tomorrow. And I'll sit by and watch you do it all." The raven smiled sadistically as Konohamaru groaned.

"_Told_ you to just do it!" Moegi exclaimed from the next room.

"Shut up!" Konohamaru insisted as he disappeared into the living room to join Udon and Moegi.

Sai let out a small laugh as he took one of the empty seats, leaning back comfortably and cracking his neck.

"How'd it go? Any problems?"

Naruto shook his head, wiping his mouth on a napkin and standing up to put his plate in the sink. He'd do the dishes later. There was no point in starting now, because he knew the sink would be full by the end of the night. He'd found that the less room there was to shove things in the sink, the less people tended to eat his food. He'd started piling the dishes up a long time ago to have less people eat. He found he went shopping for food _way_ too often, and half the time, he never remembered eating all that much.

There was a knock at the door and Ino called for whoever was outside to come in. The door opened, Nara Shikamaru and Akamichi Chouji entering.

"Yo." the lazy Jounin said as he raised one hand in greeting. "You're back."

"What's for dinner?" Chouji asked immediately afterwards.

"I'm ashamed to call you my teammates!" Ino hollered at the two by the door.

Shikamaru just scoffed as he closed the door and put his hands back in his pockets. He walked to the table and sat down in one of the free seats, Chouji going into the kitchen to grab some food.

"Oh, hey Shik, how's it going?" Sakura asked as she emerged from down the corridor, tying her hair into a ponytail. It was still fairly short, so a few strands fell into her eyes and down her cheeks.

"Not bad. Came by to check on Naruto."

"And raid his fridge." Ino shot him an annoyed glare.

"I'm not the one in the kitchen, thank you very much." Shikamaru insisted as he leaned back in the chair he occupied.

Naruto sighed. It was going to be another one of those nights.

* * *

Naruto stretched as he made his way towards his bed, cracking his neck. He'd managed to convince Sakura to go home tonight—well, okay, he'd gotten her drunk and had Ino take her home, but it was still better than her staying the night. The neighbours had started to notice, and Naruto was worried about her. 

The blond pulled back the blue covers of his bed and got beneath them, stretching out on his back. He put both hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling, scanning every crack and stain he saw. He'd memorized them all by now, but he liked to be sure he still remembered them perfectly.

Letting out a sigh, he brought his hands up and performed a seal before his eyes closed and his hands fell limply to his sides.

_

* * *

Naruto walked slowly across the water-covered floor, feeling the cold liquid sloshing around his feet and ankles, wetting the bottom of his drawstring pants. He shivered slightly as he walked through the corridors half-naked, cursing himself for always doing this right before going to sleep. Really, he should've known better by now. _

_He emerged into a large room, which contained a large cage. The inside of the cage was drowned out in darkness._

_There were no eyes hovering in the air to stare down at the eighteen year old. There were no rows of sharp teeth to grin out at him the way they used to years ago. No, things were different now. _

"_Kyuubi-jisan." Naruto called through the large expanse. _

_A form appeared on the other side of the cage, and Naruto walked towards him, slowly. He was staring at himself, only—not. The person on the other side of the cage had flaming red hair, sharp red eyes and dark, thick whisker marks on his face. He also had long fangs and sharp nails that reminded Naruto of claws. He wore a shirt and pants similar to those Jounin wore, except his were red. Not surprising to Naruto, in all honesty. _

"_You're back again, kit?" Kyuubi inquired as he leaned forward on his bars, smirking at his host. It always scared Naruto to see himself looking like that, even though he knew it wasn't actually him._

"_Yeah. Thought I'd come visit you."_

"_You didn't let me out this time." Kyuubi commented, a scowl on his face. "This is the fifth ANBU mission you've been on without letting me out." _

"_I didn't need your help."_

"_I didn't think it had anything to do with needing my help. Wasn't it to appease me?" He smirked, the action looking menacing even though he didn't necessarily mean it to be. _

"_I let you out often enough, cut me some slack." Naruto sniffed. "Besides, I'd rather have you here working on other things that are more important." _

_Kyuubi laughed. It was deep and throaty. It sounded wrong coming from Naruto, even if it wasn't actually him. _

"_You just like hearing the sound of your own voice, don't you, kit? It's why you always come here to talk to me. You want to hear yourself. You want to know your voice isn't completely gone."_

"_If you'd **healed** me like you were **meant** to, you stupid parasite, I wouldn't **have **to come down here and bother you all the time." Naruto grumbled, crossing his tanned arms over his strong chest and looking away from the other person inhabiting his body._

"_I'm still working on it, you ungrateful brat." Kyuubi growled, his eyes flashing dangerously. "That big-breasted **bitch** who calls herself Hokage screwed it all up by healing you, so it's taking longer than I thought it would."_

"_It's been a year." Kyuubi looked at Naruto as he whispered this. _

_The blond was looking at the floor, his eyes lowered and a sad expression marring his face. Kyuubi couldn't help but feel bad. He sighed as he leaned away from the bars, running one hand through his shockingly red hair. _

"_I'll fix it, kit. It annoys me as much as it does you, because I can't voice myself while I'm in control, either." Naruto just nodded before turning his back on the fox-turned-human. "Where are you going?"_

"_To bed. I have to train Team Eight tomorrow."_

"_Those brats are annoying." Kyuubi growled. "Is there no way I can just kill them?" Naruto shot a look over his shoulder and Kyuubi just rolled his eyes before walking backwards. "Next time, I better be let out, kit." he called as he was swallowed by the darkness. "You don't want me fighting against you, do you?" _

_The last thing Naruto saw was the fox's smirking face before he felt himself get wrenched backwards._

* * *

"What are you doing here, brat?" Tsunade asked as she wrote something down, speaking to the boy before he even walked through the doors. To her, he was still the annoying little boy she'd met years ago, and no amount of growing or maturity was going to change her mind on the matter. He was like her son, and by God, he was going to _stay_ that way! 

Naruto opened the doors before him, walking purposefully into the room. He was wearing a standard Jounin uniform today as opposed to his ANBU one. She knew why; he wasn't on duty, nor did she have any pressing missions for him.

"Aren't you supposed to be training your Genin team?" the blonde woman asked as she put her pen down and leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers against each other as she regarded the boy before her.

All she received for her efforts was a pink tongue sticking out from between pouting lips. She cocked an eyebrow.

With a defeated sigh, the ANBU Captain began to sign to the Hokage.

'_Ne, Tsunade-bachan, my team wants a mission. They said they won't train until you give them one, and I'm too tired to argue with them.'_

"So instead, you come to argue with me?" She narrowed her eyes. "When did twelve year olds become more fearsome than the great Hokage?" Naruto snickered at this.

'_I'm sorry, great what? For a second there, I thought you were talking about yourself, but that can't be right.'_

"Brat." Tsunade threw the closest scroll she had at his head, the blond catching it easily before beginning to open it. "That's not for your Genin team."

The blond boy grinned, as if telling Tsunade that her throwing it at his head seemed to suggest otherwise. Tsunade hated it when he got like this. The bastard was too cheeky for his own good.

"I'll give you a mission for your team." she sighed, shaking her head. Naruto began to hand the scroll back, but she waved her hand at him. "It was for you, anyway. It's a mission for tomorrow. You and your ANBU squad are to head to Stone and rid them of Sound spies that have begun to assassinate various important people. The Stone shinobi aren't enough to overcome them."

Naruto nodded, his face seeming years older as he reverted into ANBU Captain mode. Tsunade sighed, half-loving and half-hating it when he was like this. In some ways, it proved the boy had grown up, while in others, it showed her that he was no longer the boy she'd loved to tease.

Too many horrible things had happened to Naruto. She was lucky he'd retained even a spark of his old self. A spark that was rapidly being extinguished.

"Neji went to talk to the Mizukage about our mission to Sound. Similarly, Kakashi has gone to speak with the Kazekage, and Shikamaru is on a recon mission." Naruto cocked an eyebrow before tucking the scroll safely away and signing to the Hokage.

'_Am I to carry out this mission alone?'_

"No, I want you to go with your squad. They're all gone, which is why I want this mission to commence tomorrow. Kakashi and Neji should be back by then, and Shikamaru is said to be on his way back as we speak. You will leave tomorrow. Make sure you review the scroll's details and relay them to your team." Naruto nodded. "And brat?" He cocked his head to the side, regarding the Hokage. "Don't let Kyuubi out."

The blond sighed at this before his hands flew into motion, explaining to the Hokage that he couldn't do that.

"Why not?" she inquired, frowning.

'_He's upset I haven't let him out for a while. He said he would fight me for control if I didn't let him out on my next mission, and I don't feel like breaking down screaming while we're fighting off Sound nins, if it's all the same to you.'_

Sighing and shaking her head, the Hokage realised they had no choice. The only reason Kyuubi had stopped trying to take over Naruto's body was because the blond had developed a seal that allowed him to give control of his body to the fox for a short period of time. It was always during missions, which appeased the caged fox because it allowed him to vent off his anger and frustration by killing off enemies. Naruto was always in control of when Kyuubi would return to his cage, but he tried not to force him back in. Only if Kyuubi crossed the line did Naruto pull the fox back into the far recesses of his mind.

"Fine, the fox can be let out." She sighed, rubbing her face with both hands. She felt much, much older than she looked, and it was starting to wear her out. "Make sure he knows the mission."

The blond nodded before Tsunade held out a D-rank mission for his Genin team. Smiling to the Hokage, he turned to exit the room, reaching the door in three steps.

"Naruto?" The blond turned, his hand on the doorknob. "This mission you're going on tomorrow, there's a possibility you'll run into Sasuke." She saw the Kyuubi vessel wince, but he showed no other sign of discomfort, so she continued, "I can't ask you to kill him, but please promise me that if it comes down to you or him, you'll choose yourself."

She regarded the boy who was like a son to her and waited for confirmation. Naruto smiled at her, his usual brilliant smile that everyone who knew him could tell didn't reach his eyes.

'_I'll be fine.'_ he signed to her.

Then, he turned and exited the room. Tsunade sighed, shaking her head.

"You didn't answer me, brat." she whispered. "I better not lose you to Uchiha."

* * *

"But _sensei_." Nikkou whined. "This is _boring_." 

The blond sensei just smiled at his student, giving him a 'you wanted a mission, you got one' look that the younger boy knew only too well.

"Baka." Hankousha muttered under his breath.

"Teme!" Nikkou shot back.

Naruto smiled, despite feeling a pang of intense pain in his chest. The bickering between Hankousha and Nikkou reminded him so much of the bickering between himself and Sasuke. It would always start the same. Sasuke would call him "dobe" and he'd reply with "teme". It would escalate until blows were thrown and the two of them lay panting and sweaty in the training grounds, neither one of them wanting to admit defeat, but knowing they didn't have the energy to continue. Naruto missed those spars with Sasuke, and he always smiled sadly when he thought of the last fight he and the other shinobi had ever had.

It had been about two years ago. It was because of Naruto that Orochimaru hadn't been able to transfer to Sasuke's body back then. The two of them had met up while he was on his way back to Orochimaru, and they'd fought. Sasuke and Naruto had fought for close to eight hours before Naruto had finally defeated Sasuke. But then, luck hadn't been on his side. The current Sound Four had appeared and battled with the blond, and while this was happening, Kabuto had appeared, whisking Sasuke away.

Naruto had killed the Sound Four and almost died, he'd been so exhausted. He passed out and woke up with Sasuke hovering above him. And once again, he'd been left alive. The stupid Uchiha had summoned a damn snake that brought Naruto back to Konoha.

But then, the fight had cost Sasuke a heavy price. Orochimaru hadn't switched into his desired body, and so he'd stopped teaching Sasuke Jutsus for close to four months until the raven threatened to return to Konoha. Naruto still wished Sasuke had gone through with that threat, but the stupid snake bastard had started teaching him again.

Naruto only knew all this because an ANBU had been sent out to find out what was happening in Sound. That ANBU had been him.

Naruto still found it hard to believe he was an ANBU, let alone an ANBU Captain. Heck, he outranked Kakashi, for crying out loud! Although, he had to admit, he knew why. When Kakashi had rejoined the ANBU the same year Naruto had been accepted into it, Kakashi had asked to be placed on the same team as Naruto. The second the blond gained his Captain rank, Kakashi requested to be placed under him. Tsunade had complied, if only to appease the man. Everyone knew that there were only a select few who worried all the time about Naruto, and Kakashi was one of them. Being on dangerous missions with him—especially when Kyuubi was let out to play—made everyone feel better, because Kakashi knew what to do. Kakashi knew how to control and read the blond when things got out of hand.

"Ne, Naruto-sensei?" The blond shook himself from his thoughts, looking down at Nikkou. "Why does Sakura-chan have such a large forehead?" he asked with a frown.

Naruto chuckled slightly as he looked down at Nikkou, wondering where this sudden thought had come from, when a small rock hit him in the forehead, a sharp end jabbing into his skin, causing blood to trickle down from his wound.

"Monster!" a girl no older than four or five exclaimed.

"Hey!" Nikkou hollered angrily as he took a step forward, only to have Naruto put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back. "Don't call my sensei that, or I'll _beat_ you!"

The girl stuck her tongue out at him before turning and running away. Naruto wrapped one arm around Nikkou's neck and the other around his stomach to hold the furious boy back.

"Let me go, sensei! I'll beat her! I'll kill her! No one calls you a monster and gets away with it!"

Naruto sighed, shaking his head. He turned to look at Hankousha and Yurusu, but frowned when he noticed they were gone. He was losing his touch. First the rock hitting him, now this?

He looked forward again to see if he could spot them, still holding Nikkou, and noticed Yurusu dragging the girl who'd thrown the rock at him. She was crying and tugging at her wrist, which was being held by the irate raven. Hankousha was trailing behind them, looking around with his arms crossed, as if making sure no one was going to stop them.

Yurusu stopped in front of Naruto, forcing the girl to stay where she was as well. The girl was crying desperately, and Naruto suspected she was terrified.

"Let me go, sensei! Let me beat her!" Nikkou insisted.

Naruto let his student go, but lightly pushed him behind himself, bending down in front of the small, crying girl. The girl watched him fearfully, but he just smiled before opening his hand and holding it out for her to see. She frowned, tears still falling down her face. Naruto closed his hand, shook it slightly, and then opened it again. Inside was a small blue flower in full bloom. The girl's eyes widened as she stared at it, and then looked up into Naruto's eyes.

Smiling, the demon vessel placed the flower in the girl's hair, patting her head sweetly before standing again. He motioned for Yurusu to let her go and, despite wanting to injure the girl, Yurusu obeyed.

Hankousha, Nikkou and Yurusu watched with narrowed eyes as the girl ran away from them. Just as she was about to turn behind a house, she turned back to the group and smiled brilliantly at Naruto before disappearing around the house. Naruto smiled slightly before shoving his hands in his pockets and continuing down the street, the wound on his forehead already healed, as well as the one in his heart.


	3. Always

**Disclaimer :Too busy running and hiding from K. Masashi with Kiba to write a proper disclaimer:**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow'."  
_- Mary Anne Radmacher

"Yo." Naruto looked up as he waited by the gates, glaring at his former sensei. "Sorry I'm late. I was walking by a field and noticed a baby bird had fallen from its nest, so naturally, I had to take it home and care for it."

'_Liar.'_ Naruto signed simply, not even looking at Kakashi.

The silver-haired man winced every time he received that particular sign. It hurt him not being able to hear Naruto holler the word at him the way he and Sakura always used to back in the old days.

"If we are all here, we had best leave." Hyuuga Neji stated as he uncrossed his arms and secured his ANBU mask. The other three did the same and were just about to depart when a fifth figure joined them, plopping easily in the centre of the circle.

"You can't come." Kakashi said simply.

"I have permission." the new figure stated coldly. "Honestly, Kakashi-sensei, did you think I would merely show up without permission? I'm not _you_." Sakura adjusted her ANBU mask more comfortably. "I requested to escort all of you on this mission in case my medical experience was needed."

Kakashi knew the real reason. There was a possibility that they would see Sasuke, and Sakura wanted to make sure she was there to save Naruto from any life-threatening wounds. The pink-haired girl had given up on the raven long ago, and now only ever put up with any conversation about him because she knew Naruto still believed he would come back.

Naruto was naive. Sasuke wasn't coming back.

Without a word, the five of them made for the trees, flying through them quickly in the early morning light. They paused to rest only twice during their long journey, and reached Stone only two hours after sunset. They were immediately led to the Tsuchikage upon their arrival, and the old man was thrilled to see them.

"I am grateful the Hokage has deemed my request important enough to send five of her finest." the Tsuchikage said, bowing slightly. The five ANBU bowed in return before Naruto stood at the front of him team.

Using a more advanced form of talking to people—he used this during missions because it was faster—Naruto concentrated on forming a chakra link with the Tsuchikage, as well as his comrades, and words floated before the man's eyes, speaking through chakra what Naruto could not speak with his voice.

'We were requested to rid the village of Sound spies, and we demand to know what has happened thus far. Leave nothing out, for if we find you are secretly in alliance with the Sound, there shall be dire consequences. We request the knowledge of how you were informed of these spies, who they are, and what their initial purpose is. Should you fail to comply, we shall not be of assistance to you and will depart immediately for Konoha.'

The Tsuchikage's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. Never in his whole life had he been spoken to in such a manner, and he wondered where Naruto had found the courage to speak so rudely to a kage.

"Kami-sama!" the Tsuchikage exclaimed before addressing Naruto's teammates. "Does he treat his own Kage in this manner?"

"Yeah." Kakashi replied easily.

"Kind of worse, actually." Shikamaru insisted in his bored tone.

"Actually, he's worse with Gaara 'cause they're such close friends." Kakashi shot back.

"True. Consider yourself lucky, he's being pretty tame." The Tsuchikage doubted this, but said nothing nevertheless.

They spent the next twenty minutes being informed of their situation with the Sound spies until the Tsuchikage dismissed them and sent them on their way. The second they'd exited his tower, all four turned to Shikamaru.

"He's lying." he informed the team, a frown on his face.

"You think he's allied with Sound?" Sakura inquired as they walked through the village, looking around to ensure they didn't miss anything.

"Either that, or he's got something to hide." the lazy nin replied, his hands in his pockets.

"You think he might be considering attacking Konoha?" Kakashi inquired.

"Perhaps, but there's no way of telling. Whether the Sound spies are a threat to them or not, something is wrong here. What do you suggest, Captain?"

All of them turned to their Captain, who contemplated everything quietly, his eyebrows down in a frown. After a few minutes, he nodded to himself before alerting his team.

'We'll go along as planned, but keep a sharp eye for anything out of the usual. I'm assuming they haven't allied with Sound, but they _are_ against Konoha. They'll probably have us attack and kill the spies, and then turn around and attack us before waging war on Konoha.'

"I agree." Neji concurred. "This all seems too coincidental."

"So, first we deal with the Sound." Kakashi said. "We'll focus on the rest when it comes time for that."

The five ANBU nodded to one another before leaping up onto the closest rooftops and disappearing through the town, headed for the outskirts where the Sound spies were said to be.

* * *

"So?" Kakashi inquired as he replaced his katana, glancing at Shikamaru. 

"They aren't allied, which means what we were suggesting earlier is the case." The other nin put his own katana away after having wiped the blood off it. "We should keep a lookout. They'll be coming for us soon."

"Agreed." Neji said, his arms crossed.

The five ANBU made their way through the dense surroundings, walking slowly through the trees and staying on alert, theirs masks tied to their belts. They were going to kill these opponents, without a doubt, and they knew this, so they had no reason to cover their faces. That, and they didn't want to limit their sights since this was going to be harder than any other battle. They would probably be confronted by hunter nins of the Stone. That, or be overwhelmed by numbers.

Sakura glanced over at Naruto as she noticed his hands moving and saw him perform a familiar seal. Within seconds, the Naruto she knew was there no more.

Where the blond ANBU Captain had stood now was a redhead. His eyes were as vibrantly red as his hair, and his canines had elongated into fangs. His nails lengthened to form claws and the whisker marks on his cheeks, which had been almost invisible before, were now more pronounced than ever.

Kyuubi turned to Sakura and grinned at her, but the pink-haired girl turned away, hating that grin on her best friend's face. It wasn't Naruto.

'Stay alert, humans.' Sakura turned back to Kyuubi as he scanned the area, bloodlust in his eyes. 'Here they come.'

Like rapid fire, the other four ANBU stood ready, their katanas poised and their senses sharp. Kyuubi just clenched his fists, his katana still secured on his back. All listened intently, hearing nothing but their own partners' slow, even breathing. And then, their first alert to trouble appeared in the form on a branch snapping. One of their ninja wasn't very skilled. He'd probably be the first to die.

Quickly, Kakashi whirled on the spot and blocked another katana with his own, staring into the covered face of a Stone ANBU. The two pushed away from each other, leaping back to gain some distance.

"How long have you been planning to attack Konoha?" Neji asked calmly, not having moved from his position. He could see all around him, having activated his Byakugan. He knew exactly how many enemies there were, and where they were all located. For the moment, no one was in immediate danger.

_Well, _the Hyuuga smirked to himself, _**we're** in no danger, but with Kyuubi out and looking for blood, the Stone nins are going to wish they'd stayed home today._

"We are displeased with the amount of power Konoha currently has." one of the opposing ANBU stated. "It is too powerful, and we wish to minimize that power."

"By killing ANBU?" Sakura demanded, narrowing her eyes.

"By killing the best." the other said, a smirk evident in his voice. "I must admit, at first, I didn't see how you were the best. Led by a mute Captain with the inability to communicate with his team when necessary. But now, I realize my mistake. At least you're all smart."

Neji couldn't help but let a smirk slip past his mask. Naruto was anything _but_ unable to communicate with his team. In fact, Kyuubi—who was still technically their Captain—was communicating with his team the entire time the other had been talking. The Stone just didn't know it.

As the Stone ANBU before them began to continue, the Konoha shinobi made their move. Neji pulled out eight kunai and threw them through the trees around them, making each one land spot on around the hidden Stone ANBU. None of them could be hit because they were hiding behind trees, but that wasn't the purpose of these kunai. They had their own special purpose, and Neji was in charge of them because he had the Byakugan. Inscribed on each and every kunai he'd just thrown was a seal; one only Naruto—and thus, his demon—could use.

Hiraishin no Jutsu.(1)

"Go, Kyuubi!" Neji hollered.

The redheaded ANBU no one had remembered being there when the team had arrived disappeared in a flicker before appearing beside one of the hidden ANBU. He barely had time to open his mouth to attempt a scream before his throat was brutally ripped out, chunks of flesh hanging from Kyuubi's mouth.

"**Great. Lovely. Thanks. I'll be spitting blood and flesh out of my mouth for—don't you fucking swallow you disgusting parasite!"** Naruto hollered from the far recesses of his mind.

"**Calm down, kit. I'm not going to swallow it. I don't know where this human's flesh has been."**

"**Whatever, hurry up. Kill the others before they realize what you've done." **

Kyuubi did as Naruto asked, jumping quickly from one enemy to the other, killing them before they even had the chance to realize what was happening. Once they were all dead, he returned to the centre where his team was, all of them engaged in battle.

Kyuubi sniffed the air and bared his teeth angrily. More were on the way, and the team was already busy. He shrugged. _Oh well, more for me,_ he smirked to himself.

"**Kit, have you been working on perfecting that Jutsu you made up last year?"**

"**Somewhat." **

The fox scoffed before positioning himself accordingly, facing the direction the oncoming enemy were. He clapped both hands together before pulling his hands apart slowly. Two whip-hilts emerged from either hand, both created by chakra. The fox separated his hands, lengthening the whips, and finally grabbed the hilts when the chakra whips were long enough. (2) He smirked at the red chakra in his hands, proud of the fact that his kit had come up with this Jutsu. It wasn't as powerful as Rasengan or Chidori, but it had its own benefits. Like long-range fighting, which neither Rasengan _or_ Chidori could do.

"**Are you paying attention, kit?"**

"**Always making fun of me, huh, Kyuubi-jisan?"** the blond muttered, annoyed.

Kyuubi had been able to master this Jutsu, but it was mostly due to the fact that his chakra control was much better than Naruto's. The blond could form the whips, but he found he spent more time focusing on maintaining them than he did on actually _fighting _with them.

Kyuubi waited for his prey to arrive when a scent hit his nose. Sniffing, he turned and narrowed his eyes. Shikamaru had just been injured. _Damn genius, can't he stay out of trouble? _Kyuubi thought, annoyed. _Always the first to get hurt during missions. _Quickly, Kyuubi lashed out with one chakra whip, killing one of the three Stone ANBU around Shikamaru instantly.

The pony-tailed ANBU was grateful, but he'd never say it out loud. They didn't need Kyuubi to get even _more_ arrogant than he already was. Looking around, he realized everyone on his team was being pushed in different directions, all of them getting separated so it would be easier to finish them off. Shikamaru cursed under his breath as he dodged another attack, not wanting their group separated. _We're getting split up, and it doesn't look like we can do anything about it. How troublesome, _the ANBU thought with a scowl.

The five Konoha shinobi fought hard, only using about half of their real strength most of the time, and keeping their true strengths as their trump card, should the need come for them to use it. Within twenty minutes, they'd succeeded in killing all their enemies, but they were also all split up.

* * *

Sakura panted as she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, grimacing as she brushed against a cut, blood coming away on her gloved hand. She sighed, shaking her hand out and replaced her katana. She couldn't sense any more danger. 

The only girl ANBU on the team turned in a circle with a sigh, trying to sense the others' chakra as she focused healing chakra into her hands and set about healing all of her wounds. Most of them were small, but she still hated having injuries.

As she headed in a certain direction, having sensed Kakashi's chakra, she let out a scream before she could stop herself and fell on her back, a heavy weight resting over her.

Naruto was straddling her, a huge grin on his face, his eyes and hair red, and his whisker marks more pronounced. Sakura sighed, knowing what this meant. Kyuubi hadn't returned to his cage yet.

"Hello, Kyuubi." The fox's smile widened—as if it were even possible, but he managed to do so nevertheless—and leaned down to nuzzle her cheek. "Get off me."

Sakura pushed at him with both hands against his chest, but he wouldn't budge. Not that she'd expected him to, honestly. Sighing, she let her hands fall back to her side as Kyuubi started kissing her neck.

"You know what Naruto said if you didn't listen to me. He'll pull you back in and not let you out for a month." Kyuubi leaned back, glaring down at Sakura. "I mean it, fox. Get. Off."

Sakura was sure the fox would've been grumbling, had he had a voice, but since he couldn't, he just settled with looking angry, red chakra swirling around him in a chaotic manner as he got off her.

Sakura stood, dusting herself off before wincing as she held one hand over her right upper arm. Forcing healing chakra into the new wound Kyuubi had accidentally caused, it closed easily and she pulled her hand away, regarding the redhead before her. He was off leaning against a tree, his arms crossed and an annoyed scowl on his face.

Sakura hated it when Kyuubi was in control of Naruto. The fox made faces the blond had never even imagined making, and it hurt Sakura knowing that it wasn't Naruto. Knowing he had no choice but to share his body with the fox or else the demon would try to break free. It wasn't fair.

"It's time to head home." Sakura stated as she walked past Kyuubi. "You're no longer needed."

The fox shot her a scathing look, but he knew Naruto had only stopped from wrenching him back into his cage out of pure self-control. The blond hated Kyuubi being in control of his body as much as other people hated seeing the fox in control.

With a sigh, the fox's hands flew through a seal. As usual when it was a change between Kyuubi and Naruto, the blond slumped against the tree behind him, breathing hard as his eyes turned blue, his hair blond, and his whisker marks disappeared as if they'd never been there.

Sakura walked up to him and wrapped one arm around his waist, offering to help him walk. He smiled gratefully as he draped his own arm around her shoulders and the two began walking. They stumbled slightly when Naruto lost his balance, but Sakura caught him and righted herself quickly before they had the chance to fall over.

"You have to stop giving him so much control." Sakura muttered. "Every time you give him too much, it hits you hard when you come back."

The blond merely shrugged, which caused Sakura to shake her head. Sometimes, she thought Naruto just _wanted_ to die or something. He didn't take care of himself as much as he used to. Heck, he'd started sleeping with his door unlocked the same day he'd been brutally attacked three years ago. Kakashi had found him passed out, covered in blood in the forest around the training grounds. Kyuubi had healed all of his wounds, but it had taken Kakashi twenty minutes to wash all the blood off, and almost an hour for Naruto to wake up. The blond had shrugged, laughed, and rubbed the back of his head while talking about being careless.

Now, Naruto was most vulnerable when he and Kyuubi switched. When Kyuubi took control, he wasn't affected in the least, acting as if he'd just blinked or something. When Naruto regained control after Kyuubi, he lost his balance for a while and he found it hard to focus and walk. When no one was there to help him, Naruto was vulnerable because anyone could attack and he wouldn't have enough time to either defend himself, or call Kyuubi forth again. Sakura hated it.

"Are you injured?"

Sakura let out a shriek and whirled around, Naruto stumbling and almost falling from the suddenness of the movement.

Neji cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at her shriek, but figured it was just the way Sakura was. She was an amazing fighter, and incredibly stealthy, but once a battle was over and she was on edge, she lost her focus altogether and turned back into the same girl she'd been back when she was twelve.

"Neji. Yeah, we're fine." she said, taking a deep breath to calm her erratically beating heart.

Neji looked at Naruto and surveyed him. The blond gave him a grin and a thumbs up, despite putting most of his weight on Sakura. The Hyuuga activated his Byakugan and surveyed his Captain's chakra pathways, frowning at what he saw.

"Did you allow Kyuubi more control than usual?" the ANBU inquired as he deactivated his bloodline limit.

'_Maybe.'_ the blond signed, struggling to do so with one hand around Sakura's shoulders.

"Your pathways were almost completely devoid of your chakra. They're struggling to replenish themselves now."

"Naruto!" The pink-haired girl clocked her best friend over the head and the blond hissed, pouting at the two ANBU around him.

"Is everyone all right?" Kakashi inquired as he appeared through the trees, Shikamaru trudging lazily behind him, his hands in his pockets.

"We're fine, but _someone_ over-exerted himself." Sakura glared at Naruto.

The blond's head suddenly shot up, and his eyes narrowed. Before the others could ask what was wrong, he pulled away from Sakura and performed the seal again, giving control back to Kyuubi.

"What the hell!" Sakura hollered angrily as she stared into blood-red eyes.

'More are coming. They aren't far.'

"How many?" Shikamaru inquired.

'At least fifty.'

"Mendokuse." Shikamaru muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "No way for us to outrun them?"

"No." Neji stated, the chakra pathways around his eyes visible as Byakugan reactivated. "They'll be arriving in approximately twenty seconds. No time to run."

"Fantastic." Kakashi muttered. "Well, let's get this over with so we can go home. Kyuubi, you got our backs?" He turned to the redhead.

The fox inside Naruto's body grinned evilly, giving Naruto's face a look that scared even his teammates. 'Always.'

* * *

(1) Flying Thunder God Technique. The Yellow Flash's technique. I had to do so much research to make sure I got how this worked right. Mah, so troublesome. If you want the full use of it, let me know and I'll post it in my next chapter.

(2) I call this the "Double-whip Jutsu". It's basically just whips created from chakra.


	4. Tomorrow

**Disclaimer: What's that, K. Masashi? You say I can have Kiba? Oh, you're so nice!  
:removes gun from K. Masashi's head and proceeds to run away with Kiba:**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning."  
_- Maya Angelou

Tsunade adjusted the pile of reports on her desk before folding her hands together and looking at the team before her. "So, how did it go?"

She was greeted with five simultaneous glares. Each of the five ANBU before her was covered in their blood—from already healed wounds—as well as others' blood and dirt. Sakura had twigs and leaves in her hair and Kakashi had a layer of mud caked across his back.

Tsunade cleared her throat, looking back at her pile of reports and straightening them again to avoid eye contact with the angry ANBU before her.

The only one who looked relatively clean was Naruto. Of course, he was also the only one to be brought back unconscious, having lost consciousness after Kyuubi had retreated to his cage. Tsunade was getting worried. More and more now, Naruto's reaction to the transfer was getting worse. She feared that eventually, the transfer would just kill Naruto and leave Kyuubi in charge of his body. She wanted to tell the blond to stop switching with the fox, but she knew he wouldn't listen. It was willingly give control to Kyuubi during battles, or have it forcefully taken any time the fox wished.

"So, what happened?"

"We killed the Sound spies, but we discovered Stone was secretly plotting against Konoha." Tsunade's eyebrows went up at Shikamaru's words. "We also heard that there's a group of Stone ANBU headed for Sand as we speak to attack them. The Kazekage must be warned."

"Shizune." The petite brunette appeared beside Tsunade, having been standing slightly behind her chair during the discussion. "Send our fastest messenger to Sand. Inform the Kazekage of Stone's betrayal. We're going to have to assume they'll ally with Sound in the near future."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Shizune disappeared from the room.

"Anything else?" Tsunade inquired, folding her hands together and resting her mouth against them. Kakashi, Shikamaru, Sakura and Naruto shook their heads, but Neji remained thoughtful. "Neji?" The Hyuuga looked at her, and sighed.

"Hokage-sama, I would like to discuss a possible chakra depletion in Naruto's system."

Immediately, the blond hit Neji across the arm, scowling angrily before crossing his arms. Tsunade frowned at this action, knowing this couldn't be good. Naruto always _did_ try to hide his more life-threatening problems from her.

"What is it?" the Hokage demanded.

'_It's nothing, Tsunade-bachan.'_ Naruto insisted. _'Neji's just worried because I passed out, that's all.'_

"Do not lie to the Hokage." Neji growled.

"We all know something's wrong with you, Naruto." Shikamaru stated lazily, inspecting his katana. "There's no point in trying to hide it."

"Were you also aware of Naruto's situation?" Tsunade asked Shikamaru with narrowed eyes.

"I was."

"Then why did you not say you had more to tell me?" she barked out.

"Because I knew Neji would. Besides, if he didn't, I would've stayed behind to tell you so Naruto wouldn't know it was me." The lazy ANBU shrugged. "No point in getting harassed by Naruto just because I care."

"So, talk." Tsunade ordered.

Neji spent the next twenty minutes explaining in as much detail as possible everything he saw. Naruto then spent three hours with Tsunade while she looked him over and tried to determine what happened to his chakra when he wasn't in control. By the time he left, his stomach was growling from hunger, he was still covered in mud and blood, and he had a weird itch at the back of his eyeballs that suggested he needed a lot of sleep.

When he got outside, Sakura was waiting for him so they could head over to Ichiraku. Once there, Teuchi and Ayame gave their favourite customer ramen on the house once they saw how tired, beat up, and muddy he looked.

Sakura and Naruto spent an hour there, chatting about their mission and about the one coming up. Sakura informed him that Kankurou and Temari were meant to be coming into town the next day, but with the recent development of Stone, they probably wouldn't come.

"Yikes, is that the time?" Sakura suddenly asked out of nowhere, making a face. "Damn, I have to go on an early patrol with Domike."

'_How is ol' Pasona Domike doing?'_ Naruto signed. Sakura scoffed.

"Abusing her new Elite ANBU status. Did you know she summons Kimon whenever she feels like it? A tree branch moves in the wind and she screams danger, and next thing I know, I've got a huge, white tiger bearing down on me." The pink-haired girl threw money on the counter, smiling at Teuchi and Ayame before she and Naruto left the small ramen stand.

'_I need to head home, too, anyway. Have a safe walk home.'_ he signed to her. She smiled and hugged him.

"You, too. I'd stay with you, but I don't want you waking up early because of me." She pulled away and waved at him. "I'll see you for dinner tomorrow."

Naruto waved at Sakura as he headed down the street, shoving his hands in the pockets of his filthy ANBU pants. He tilted his head slightly to the side, as if listening to something nobody but him could hear, before straightening it again, continuing on his way.

Behind him, two Jounins hid in the shadows, watching him leave. "That's him. The Hokage's precious little _pet_." one of the Jounin spat bitterly.

"He's a monster." the other agreed. "How the Nine-Tails can become an ANBU is beyond me. He shouldn't have gotten a hitai-ate in the first place."

"Come on. Just like we planned." The two of them disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto calmly walked down the street before turning down an alleyway to head through a shortcut. He hated taking the long way around, it always took so much longer, and he had to train Hankousha, Nikkou and Yurusu the next day. He let out a sigh, shaking his head. Training those three was so tiresome sometimes.

Naruto suddenly flew off his feet as shuriken pelted his back. He slid along the ground and let out an inaudible groan as he raised himself on his hands and knees. Someone stomping on his back forced him back down.

"Why's trash like you trying to bother leaving the alleyway?" a Jounin smirked. "Trash belongs here."

Naruto turned his head to look at the two Jounin behind him, and then shook it. The Jounin frowned and jumped back startled as Naruto suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke. It was a Kage Bunshin.

"Wh-what?" Looking up, they noticed Naruto at the opposite end of the alleyway, his hands in his pockets, watching them leisurely. They both tensed as he surveyed them before the mute ANBU Captain turned on his heel and started walking away.

* * *

Haruno Sakura stretched as she walked down the street, having just gotten off her patrol duty. She glanced at the time, deciding it was late enough for Naruto to be awake, but early enough for him not to have gone to train his Genin team yet. 

She turned and headed in the direction of his apartment, being sure to pass in front of the training grounds. She looked and noticed the Memorial Stone sitting peacefully by itself. No Kakashi, and no Naruto.

The blond had started standing in front of the stone as often as Kakashi, staring at the names engraved on the sleek black surface. He probably knew them all by heart by now, but the reason he did it wasn't to learn who had died for their village. Sakura knew why he always stood there. It was because he felt another name should be added. Sasuke's. Not because he was dead, but because before he'd left the village, he _had_ been somewhat of a hero.

"Not being here is the same as being dead, right?" Naruto had once asked her, a few months after Sasuke had left. Before the blond had gone off with Jiraiya. "Sasuke's name should be on this. He shouldn't be forever known as a traitor. He was a good guy, teme just forgot who he was."

Sakura smiled slightly as she thought of the blond's words, walking down the street with her hands shoved deep into her pockets. She felt like ramen right now. Naruto was rubbing off on her, and she knew it. Besides, the blond never turned down a chance to have his favourite meal. _Which reminds me, _the girl thought as she reached Naruto's apartment building, _Iruka wants to meet Naruto for dinner tonight._

Sakura climbed the stairs to Naruto's apartment, whistling a random tune as she headed for her best friend's door. The whistle stuck in her throat and her face distorted with rage as she stared at his door.

"Fuck, I'm going to _kill_ these people if I ever find out who they are." she grumbled angrily under her breath.

On Naruto's door were words carved deep in the wood. Like almost every other day.

_Monster!_

_Demon!_

_Die demon Bastard!_

_We hate you!_

Sakura felt tears sting her eyes and she brushed them away angrily. She couldn't believe after everything he'd done for this village he was _still_ treated like this.

With a sigh, she forced chakra into her hand and focused on the Jutsu Kawazuki Yamato had taught her years ago before he'd died at the hands of Orochimaru. No one could replicate his wood Jutsu, the one he'd gotten from the First's genes, but they could do something close enough. She was going to re-grow the door so that the letters would disappear as if nothing had happened. Placing her hand on the door, she did just that, removing the words as if they'd never even been there.

She jerked her hands away right as she finished when the door opened, Naruto about to leave his house, but pausing as he saw her. She smiled brightly, waving.

"Hey, Naruto."

The blond cocked an eyebrow before looking at his door. Sakura did the same and winced when she noticed she'd missed one. Naruto turned to her with a smile, shaking his head as he closed his door.

'_It happens all the time, Sakura-chan.'_ he signed to her. _'It's okay.'_

"Don't tell me it's okay, Uzumaki Naruto!" she screamed angrily before turning on her heel and stomping down the corridor. How _dare_ he say it was okay?.! It was _not_ okay! He didn't deserve it!

She was so furious she slammed straight into someone coming up the stairs, almost falling back on her ass, but the person grabbed her arm, steadying her.

"What happened _this_ time, Sakura?" The pink-haired girl recognized the voice before even looking up.

"Knock some sense into your little brother, will you! He keeps talking about how being called a demon is 'okay'." Sakura brought her hands up to quote the word Naruto had used.

"Oi, brat, you're not still acting as if everything is okay when we know it's not, are you?" Sabaku no Temari hollered as she stormed past Sakura, Kankurou releasing the ANBU's arm to follow his older sister.

'_It's nothing, honest! It was just words carved into my door!'_ Naruto insisted, signing frantically with fear in his eyes.

He knew Temari better than anyone—including her own siblings—and he did _not_ want her wrath brought upon himself before he trained his team. He wouldn't be able to move.

"I don't give a shit! Who did this? I'll kick their asses!" Temari punched one hand into her other. "Come on, point them out."

"I wish I knew." Sakura muttered, coming up beside Temari and Kankurou, all three of them looking at Naruto. "I'd have beat them up months ago."

"This has been going on for months?.!" Kankurou asked, anger in his voice.

'_It's fine! Calm down! What about Stone? I thought they were headed for Sand!'_ Naruto signed, trying to get them to forget about his door.

"We caught up with them before they reached Sand and sent them home crying. And don't change the subject!" Naruto shrank away from Temari as she said this.

'_I have to go train my team.'_

"And I have to watch your back. Dammit, little brother!" Temari stomped her foot angrily.

'_I really have to go. I'll see you for dinner.'_ the blond signed as he passed them and then ran down the corridor, running away from the wrath of his older sister, who wasn't even his real sibling.

He couldn't help a smile from forming on his face as he thought of Temari, Kankurou and Gaara. His surrogate siblings. Iruka was his surrogate dad. Tsunade was his surrogate grandmother. Sakura was his best friend. He felt like he had an actual family and actual friends.

A smile formed on the blond's lips as he ran down the stairs before teleporting to the training grounds.

* * *

Kakashi walked calmly down the corridor, headed for a large conference room in the Hokage tower. He was an hour late, but he figured everyone would've guessed he wouldn't be on time. 

He pushed through the doors and walked into the room, scanning the annoyed faces of the other ANBU, their masks off.

"Yo."

"Dammit, Kakashi, this meeting started an hour ago!" Sakura hollered, slamming her fist on the table before her. It cracked in two, causing people to let out annoyed cries.

"Sakura!" Genma said warningly.

"Sorry, Genma-taishou." Sakura winced, sitting down again and looking at the broken table.

"The Hokage isn't even here." Kakashi took his seat beside his own Captain.

He saw the three best ANBU teams in all of Konoha were there. His own team, consisting of Neji, Shikamaru, and his Captain, Naruto. Shiranui Genma's team, with Sakura, Pasona Domike and Karagawa Takeshi. Lastly, there was Sai's team, which included Tamura Tenten, Koda Takako and Mimura Shinji. They were the best of the best. These were the three teams being sent to Sound to retrieve Sasuke.

"Should we alert the Hokage that we're all here?" Domike inquired.

"Tch. No." Takeshi insisted, crossing his arms. "She'll come when she's ready."

"If she's not drunk." Shinji snickered.

"Do not speak of our Hokage in such a manner." Neji narrowed his eyes, his arms crossed. "She is a powerful woman."

"I never said she wasn't." Shinji smirked. "I just said she was always drunk."

"It's true." Genma had to concur.

"If she hears you say that, she'll strip you of your ANBU status." Sakura said. "She can hold quite the grudge."

"Nah." Shinji waved his hand at her, dismissing her warning. "Takako would get me out of it."

"How so?" Tenten frowned, confused, as she regarded the girl at the other end of the table. Takako just sighed and shook her head.

"No, you don't get it. Takako has a gift. She's awesome. She can get you out of anything, and since she's my best friend, she gets me out of everything." He nodded, grinning hugely. "Uh huh. Oh yeah, Takako is my helpful helper who enjoys helping me help myself in helpful ways."

"You're an idiot." Shikamaru stated.

The door opened before Shinji could reply and Tsunade walked in, Kankurou and Temari walking in behind her. Tsunade scanned the room, looking at Kakashi before moving on, did a double take, blinked, and then just stared.

"What?" the Copy-nin asked, confused.

"You're—here."

"It's a mission regarding Sasuke. I wasn't going to be four hours late." he replied.

"Of course." The Hokage took her seat, Temari and Kankurou sitting on either side of her.

Tsunade then stared at the broken table before her before cocking an eyebrow and looking at Sakura. The other girl laughed nervously, rubbing her right upper arm. Tsunade merely shrugged before leaning back in her chair, steepling her fingers against each other.

"As you all know, this is a top-priority mission involving the best Konoha has to offer. The Kazekage has offered his help, for which we are grateful. Temari and Kankurou will be listening to our debriefing before returning home to speak with the Kazekage. You shall all head out tomorrow to meet them in Sand, and then the two allied villages will head to Sound to take Sasuke back by force. Should you have the chance to kill Orochimaru, take it, but it is _not_ our first priority. We are to retrieve Sasuke."

'Is this to be a covert operation, or can we rush in there as an army of sorts?' Naruto asked via chakra, sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed. Domike jerked in her seat.

"Holy shit, what was that?"

"Relax. It was Naruto's chakra communication." Sakura said with a sigh.

"That's right, it's your first time. Like a chakra virgin." Shinji grinned at her. "Don't worry, I freaked out the first time, too."

'Wonderful. My question?'

"As much as possible, we would like this to go unnoticed." Tsunade said. "If it cannot be helped, then it cannot be helped. This is why we have Sand helping us. Naruto, you and your team will go in to retrieve Sasuke." The blond shot a glance at Sakura, who wasn't on his team. She didn't react, so he looked back at the Hokage. "Should things start to go wrong, you can alert the other teams and Sand, and backup shall come. If you can do it without alerting Sound and extract Sasuke, retreat to Sand. It is closer, and better guarded. We will send shinobi to escort him home, all of you coming along as well, obviously."

"Gaara requested Naruto stay." Temari cut in. "He wants to spend some time with Naruto."

"It's up to him." Tsunade said with a nod in Temari's direction. "After this mission, all of you will be on a month's leave. Naruto, you can stay in Sand if you want. The rest of you will help escort Sasuke home, and then you will have your leave. Any questions?"

There were none.

"All right, the mission starts at dawn."

"We shall head home." Kankurou said as he and Temari stood. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Thank you for your help." Tsunade bowed her head slightly to them. They bowed back before heading for the door.

"Bye, little brother. Be careful." Temari called before leaving.

"Take care of yourself." Kankurou added before leaving as well, closing the door behind himself.

The room was silent for a few seconds before Tsunade nodded, stood, and went to the door. Before exiting the room, she turned and looked first at Sakura, then Kakashi, and lastly Naruto. "Good luck. And if it becomes a battle between you and Sasuke, everyone, choose yourself over him." She narrowed her eyes at Naruto as she said this. "He is not valuable enough that I'd risk losing any of my finest."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said. Sakura nodded. Naruto just gave her his trademark grin, and the Hokage knew he wouldn't listen to her. If he and Sasuke fought, he would die before killing Sasuke. That was something she couldn't dissuade him of.

Tomorrow, things in all of their lives were going to change.


	5. Reunion

**Disclaimer: For the last time, K. Masashi! I don't know where Kiba is!  
****:innocent, angelic smile:**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_Friendship is a comforting smile, a familiar voice that warms the heart."  
_- Anonymous

Uchiha Sasuke walked leisurely down the long corridor, watching the shadows dance off the walls as he passed. He found nothing better to do with his time now that he knew everything Orochimaru had to teach him. All he had left to do was find Itachi, and kill the bastard. Then, everything would be finished, and Sasuke could go back to—

The Uchiha paused as he frowned. Go back to what? Once he killed Itachi, his body would be taken over. He'd have wasted his whole life destroying one man. He'd never done anything other than train to defeat Itachi, and once that was done, he wouldn't have the chance to experience anything because Orochimaru would be in his body.

The raven frowned at this thought, still displeased with the idea of someone else's consciousness in his body. He'd still be there, deep down inside, but he would never be in control. Almost like the Kyuubi and Naruto.

Then again, the damn snake bastard kept going back on his word. He had promised Sasuke could dispose of Itachi before he took over Sasuke's body, yet two years ago, Orochimaru had been planning on doing just that when Sasuke wasn't nearly half as strong as he needed to be in order to defeat Itachi. He was not pleased with the snake man. Not in the slightest.

The only thing that had saved him back then had been Naruto.

The raven sighed as his mind turned back to the blond dobe. It did that a lot lately, and it annoyed Sasuke to no end. The stupid usuratonkachi shouldn't occupy as much of his mind as he did, and Sasuke wondered what it meant. He supposed he just missed his blond teammate. And Kakashi, and Sakura. Yeah, he missed Team Seven, but there was no going back now.

Sasuke sighed, rubbing the back of his head, messing up his hair even more. He hadn't changed his rooster-tail hairstyle in all the long years he'd been with Orochimaru, despite how much the snake master hated it. Sasuke liked it, because it reminded him of the life he used to have and could never return to.

"Sasuke-sama." The Uchiha turned as he heard his name and came face to face with Verity, one of the Sound Four—the _new_ Sound Four. Naruto had killed the ones before this new team.

"What is it?" he demanded impatiently, crossing his arms. Of the four Sound nins Orochimaru could've sent with the message, it _had_ to be the one who took her time talking to him in order to stare at him for as long as possible. Which was what she was doing right now, practically drooling.

"It's Orochimaru-sama." she said, looking Sasuke up and down with a grin. The Uchiha crossed his arms, waiting.

"What about him?" he asked when she didn't continue.

"You know. He wants to see you." Verity smirked as she leaned against the wall, biting her bottom lip seductively.

"Why?" Sasuke demanded, narrowing his eyes. The girl just shrugged.

"We have pressing matters to discuss and things to be dealt with."

Without a word, the pale Uchiha walked past her, the girl following behind him with a pout as they headed for Orochimaru's chambers.

Sasuke shivered as they neared the room, hating going into Orochimaru's private quarters. He still didn't understand how the man could violate a body he would soon be inhabiting. Sasuke himself just lay there and took it, knowing he couldn't push the other man away. Thankfully, Orochimaru had lost interest in him recently, and he hadn't been in the man's chambers for close to two months.

He just hoped this was another debriefing.

Sasuke and Verity entered the room, the raven nodding to the remaining three of the Sound Four, Kazuma, Kaiza and Mitsuru. They nodded back respectfully, knowing Sasuke was the only person other than Orochimaru and Kabuto who deserved their utmost respect, as both their master's future body _and_ as an Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru smiled at him and patted the seat beside him. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched but he obeyed nevertheless, taking a seat beside his sensei. "As all of you may know, a war is approaching between Konoha and Sound." Orochimaru began, his hand not so discreetly landing on Sasuke's upper thigh. The raven did his best to ignore it.

"Konoha is foolish if they believe they can crush Sound, Orochimaru-sama." Kaiza insisted with utmost respect.

"I believe this as well, but I have heard they are going to have the Kyuubi no Kitsune with them." Sasuke tensed, but kept his face impassive. God, he wanted to see Naruto again, but if he did, the blond would probably die. No—it was better if he never saw Naruto again. _Ever_.

"I want the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox." Orochimaru stated. "I want you to capture the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and anyone else within the travelling shinobi who could be of use to us."

"Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Neji and Baikan Sai are said to be with the demon-vessel." Kabuto informed. "Them, more than any of the others, will be of use to us."

"Where are they now?" Mitsuru asked as he crossed his arms, leaning back against the closest wall.

"They are headed for Sand." Orochimaru replied. "Undoubtedly, the two have formed an alliance, and the Village of the Sand will be aiding Konoha in the destruction of Sound."

"We shall never let that happen, Orochimaru-sama." Kazuma insisted. Orochimaru smiled, absent-mindedly drawing circles on Sasuke's inner thigh. The raven kept his face neutral, despite being revolted by the other man's touch.

"This mission is to take place immediately. I want the Kyuubi no Kitsune." The Sound Four nodded and Orochimaru turned to Sasuke, his hand leaving the boy's thigh only to cup his cheek in a loving manner, gazing into red Sharingan eyes. "I shall allow you to play with your pet, Sasuke-kun. Do with him what you will, but then, he is mine."

Sasuke merely nodded before he stood, motioning for the Sound Four to follow him. They all left the room to go and complete their mission.

* * *

Naruto looked around, feeling unease in his gut. He'd travelled this road to Sand hundreds, if not thousands, of times, and never once did he feel as threatened as he currently felt. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. 

He sent a burst of chakra to Kakashi—who was closest to him—and the masked man turned to look at him, Naruto signing to him quickly.

'_I'm going to give Kyuubi control. I need to talk to him.'_

Kakashi merely nodded, knowing how this worked. When Naruto was in control, he had to fall unconscious or force himself into the depths of his mind with a Jutsu in order to interact with the fox. When the fox was in control, he and Naruto could talk freely in their minds.

"Be careful. Don't let him out for too long." Naruto nodded before performing the seal and closing his eyes.

The change was instantaneous, blond hair turning red, whisker marks becoming more pronounced, fangs replacing teeth, claws replacing nails—and when he opened his eyes, the normal clear-sky blue was gone, replaced with a vivid red.

"**You feel it, too, don't you, kit?"** the Kyuubi asked his host as he looked around, his red eyes narrowed. **"I feel something is amiss."**

"**I feel it, too." **Naruto agreed from the recesses of his mind. **"Something is wrong, but I can't put my finger on what exactly it is." **

"**My blood boils at the feeling which approaches. It is familiar, and strong." **Naruto was silent for a long moment. Both he and Kyuubi knew what this meant, but the fox wasn't going to push Naruto to say it. The boy would voice his fears in his own time.

Ten seconds later, and Naruto finally did.

"**Sasuke."**

"**I believe he has come to find our group, kit. We must warn the others. We must move quickly. Once we have reached Sand, everything should be fine." **

"**Thanks, Kyuubi-jisan."** Naruto called the fox back to his cage.

The blond stumbled as he regained control of his body, Kakashi catching him around the waist to keep him balanced until the man was under control again.

'_Kyuubi and I sense something foul is coming. We must hurry to Sand.'_ Naruto signed hurriedly as he began walking faster, getting to the front of the group and walking at a speedier pace, causing everyone to follow his pace or risk being left behind.

Naruto looked around calmly, trying not to worry his team, but silently calculating the distance between Sasuke and them. The result he found wasn't encouraging. At this pace, they wouldn't make it to Sand in time.

He turned to his team, quickly signing that they had to move. Fast.

They all began running, making their way quickly across the sand. Naruto cursed the fact that the sand was slowing them down. The same should've been the case for the Sound nins, but from what he could tell, they were still gaining on them. Much too quickly.

_Shit, we're not gonna make it, _Naruto thought worriedly.

"**Kit!"**

The fact that Kyuubi had managed to speak to him proved the severity of the situation. Without even breaking his stride, Naruto flipped in the air, five kunai flying by beneath him. His team stopped as Naruto slid on the sand in a crouch, standing quickly and pulling out a kunai.

'Everyone on the defensive! We've got Sound nins!'

He noticed Kakashi and Sakura tensing as wave after wave of chakra poured onto them. They'd obviously just sensed Sasuke. This fight was going to turn ugly very, very fast.

"Domike, summon Kimon!" Genma ordered.

The brunette didn't hesitate, biting her thumb and doing a seal before slamming her hand into the sand.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" In a puff of smoke, a large, white Siberian tiger appeared. "We've been ambushed by Sound! Tell the Kazekage, now!" The tiger was gone in the next second, nothing but a blur in the distance.

Everyone stood on alert, wondering why no one had been attacked yet. Not to mention they could see no one around them for what seemed like miles. Naruto narrowed his eyes, waiting. Waiting. They were close. Any second now—

They appeared quickly, without a sound, without even the slightest warning. There were at least fifty of them versus the twelve ANBU. The Konoha shinobi weren't too concerned; they were the best of their village.

But then again...

The Sound nins had Sasuke, and from the looks of it, a new Sound Four, too.

"Well, well, well." One of the Sound Four grinned. "Look what we've caught in our net."

"You are all S-class nukenin (1)." Neji said loudly in his usual authoritative tone. "If you surrender now and come to Sand, your punishment for your treasonous acts will be diminished considerably."

"Listen to this guy." the only girl of the Sound Four giggled. "I don't think you're in any position to make demands."

"I don't think you know who you're messing with." Shinji shot back, hand wrapped around the hilts of his sais (2). He preferred them to a kunai.

"Sure we do." another one of the Sound Four insisted. "You're all ANBU. The elite of the elite."

"And who are you?" Genma asked, narrowing his eyes.

Naruto shot a look at his team as he waited for a reply. They all looked ready to fight, and Shikamaru had his eyes closed with his hands together, obviously trying to think up a strategy. If they weren't in the middle of the damn desert, he'd probably have an easier time, since he'd have to take all the sand into consideration.

Naruto almost wished they were all wearing their ANBU gear, complete with katanas. In their Jounin uniforms, all the ANBU present were limited to what they had. Kunai and shuriken ran out fast. Katanas never left your side.

"Who are we? We're the Sound Four."

"Names would be appreciated." Sakura stated drily.

"Why give your name to those about to die?" one of them asked, grinning widely.

"So that we may know what names to carve on your tombstones." Neji stated calmly.

"I like that one." The girl smirked, motioning Neji. "I want to torture him."

Neji narrowed his eyes.

"I am Kaiza, keeper of the West gate." one of the men started.

"I am Verity, keeper of the East gate." the only girl said.

"I am Kazuma, keeper of the South gate."

"I am Mitsuru, keeper of the North gate."

Without another word, they attacked. Naruto vaguely noticed one of the Sound Four—Kaiza, if he remembered correctly—had turned invisible. Trusting his senses to alert him if the cowardly bastard came near him, Naruto flipped over an attacker, throwing two kunai as he landed. One lodged itself in the Sound nin's throat while the other flew past him, slamming into the back of another's head. The second Sound nin fell face first right in front of Shinji, who glared at Naruto.

"I had him!" he insisted before slamming his elbow backwards without even looking, hitting a Sound nin in the face.

That was when Naruto knew. Something about this battle was wrong. Very wrong. Sasuke still hadn't shown up, but already Naruto felt this battle wasn't in their favour.

He turned his head just in time to see Tenten fend off an attack before collapsing, seemingly for no reason.

"Tenten!" Neji hollered.

"Stay focused!" Kakashi ordered as he dodged an attack from Mitsuru. A second later, Naruto was snapped back to his own battle as he felt a stinging pain in his arm. He looked down and noticed a huge gash with rips in his skin around the initial wound. _What the hell?_

"Pay attention, pretty boy." He looked up at Verity as she grinned, a whip in her hand. "Don't want to destroy that pretty face of yours until I've had fun with you."

Naruto just glared, his arm healing quickly. Now would really be a good time for Kyuubi, but he didn't think he'd have enough time to perform the seal. Not with everything happening around him.

"Oh, so _you're_ the Kyuubi." Naruto's eyes narrowed as Verity stared at his healing wound. "Well, this makes it even better. I can keep hurting you and you'll keep healing." She smirked.

Naruto noticed Domike collapse, also for seemingly no reason. This wasn't looking good.

Verity cracked her whip at Naruto, but he shifted out of the way, the whip barely grazing his cheek. He winced as he felt his skin rip before reforming. He didn't understand how this was happening. It wasn't until she whipped a third time that he knew. He'd held out his hand and grabbed the whip, ignoring it as the thick leather bit into his hand. He winced as he felt something scraping him.

"Broken glass." Verity smirked. "I've encrusted my whip with it for two reasons. One is because it causes more damage. The other is in case situations like this arise." She held one hand before her face, closing her eyes. Naruto frowned. "Shower of broken glass." she whispered.

Suddenly, Naruto recoiled, letting go of the whip as glass bit into his skin. He stumbled away, cuts everywhere on his body, and just barely managed to duck as he sensed a fist headed for him. Landing on his knees, he hastily rolled away as he felt Kaiza's fist fly in his direction again.

"Dammit, hold still!" Kaiza's voice said, even though he wasn't visible.

The sand around Naruto suddenly started morphing and he jumped away as two huge dogs made of sand began snapping at him with sharp teeth. Naruto continued to evade the invisible man's attacks, kicking the sand dogs to destroy them, but they always returned just as quickly.

It wasn't until Naruto ducked another attack that hit Takeshi in the back that he understood. As the other man crumbled to the ground, Naruto's eyes widened. Kaiza could knock people out just by touching them. _Oh shit._

"You've figured it out, haven't you?" Naruto spun around as Verity walked towards him, lazily retracting her whip. "One touch, and you're down for the count."

Naruto dodged another attack from Kaiza, vaguely noting that Sai, Shinji and Shikamaru seemed to be in extreme pain. Casting a glance at Kazuma, he suspected he knew why. He looked like he was happily sucking their chakra. This was bad. So very, very bad. If Sand didn't come soon, none of them would be standing by the time they _did_ arrive.

_I have no choice. It's risky to do it now, but I have to,_ Naruto thought. Quickly, his hands began to fly in a seal, but he let out a hiss of pain and jumped back as he saw the large wound in his hand. He couldn't complete the seal with that damn _bitch_ waving her whip all over the place!

"Now, now. No cheating. Wouldn't want us to release our own seals, would you?" Verity smirked, getting ready to aim again should Naruto try a second time.

The blond ANBU Captain grimaced angrily. _Damn, things aren't looking good at all. Where the fuck is Gaara?_

Naruto had no choice. He didn't want the Sound nins to know about this move, but if he didn't use it, they would all be killed. Or worse—they'd be brought to Orochimaru. Not an option. Naruto ran towards Verity, her eyes opening wide in confusion and shock as the blond ANBU Captain hurled himself at her. He dodged her whip and touched her arm briefly before spinning away from her and rushing towards Kazuma.

Shikamaru looked up through his pain as he noticed Naruto coming. He was on his hands and knees on the ground, clutching his stomach. He understood what Naruto was doing the second he touched Kazuma and jumped away from him, heading for Mitsuru, who was engaged in battle with Kakashi. Shikamaru just hoped he'd hurry. The genius then scoffed. _Hurry?_ he thought with a smirk. _Of **course** he's going to hurry. After all, he's going to be doing the Hiraishin no Jutsu (3)._

Naruto couldn't risk touching Kaiza, this he knew. He'd just have to improvise when it came time to deal with him. Naruto smirked as Verity cracked her whip at him, and then disappeared. Of course, he wasn't really gone, he was just moving too fast for anyone to see. Naruto silently thanked the Fourth for creating this technique and then teaching it to Jiraiya. Honestly, the old pervert really _was_ useful to Naruto sometimes.

Naruto slammed his fist into Verity's face and was flashing towards Kazuma before Verity had even begun to fall. He slammed a kunai deep into Kazuma's gut, the other man stunned at not even having seen Naruto. He began to fall to his knees as Naruto rushed towards Mitsuru. Mitsuru seemed to turn towards Naruto in slow motion and Naruto slammed his fist into the third Sound nin's face, sending him crashing to the floor.

Naruto had only injured Kazuma as badly as he had because he was the most dangerous as far as he could tell.

Now that the Sound Four—well, three of them, at least—were out of the picture, it left the Konoha ANBU at a slightly better advantage than they had been previously. The others fought ruthlessly, killing Sound nins left and right as Naruto struggled to subdue Kaiza. He was still floating around, trying to knock people out. Those who'd fallen due to him hadn't risen, and Naruto wondered how long the effects lasted.

The mute blonde looked around the battlefield, for that was what it had turned into. How had this happened? One minute, they were all fine, walking along to get to Sand, and the next—absolute chaos. How had Sound even found out about this?

Naruto ducked under the arm of another Sound nin that swung his kunai at him, easily spinning behind him and slamming his hand against the back of the shinobi's neck, sending him crashing to the ground. A sound Naruto knew all too well hit his ears and he spun around in time to see Sakura hit the ground, having just been backhanded across the face.

_Sakura!_ the Kyuubi vessel thought wildly, his eyes wide and his brain intent on bringing him over to her.

That one second of distraction was all that was needed. With a gasp, he jerked forward slightly, his eyes widening before he looked down at the hand impaling him in the upper chest, right through a lung.

This person wanted him alive. He knew it. Because this person had done this to him before, and had seen Naruto survive.

Naruto's eyes began to close as consciousness slipped from him.

_Sasu... ke_...

The hand was wrenched out of his chest and he fell heavily to the ground, his vision dimming until darkness enveloped him.

* * *

(1) Missing Nins.

(2) I don't mean Sai the person, I mean the weapons. You know, like Rafael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles uses. The fork-like weapons.

(3) Flying Thunder God Technique.


	6. Blue Eyes

**Disclaimer: K. Masashi THINKS he owns Kiba, but we all know he's really mine. Otherwise, he wouldn't keep trying to escape to my house!**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."  
_- Martin Luther King Jr.

"Naruto!"

Naruto frowned. What was that annoying crick in his neck? Why did his arms feel numb?

"Naruto!"

God, his chest hurt. Why did his chest hurt? Why was it so hard to breathe?

"Naruto!"

_And who the fuck is calling my name?.!_

Annoyed and feeling sleepy, the blond slowly opened his eyes to focus on the scene before him. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the dark room he found himself in, and he frowned.

"Thank God! Naruto, are you okay?" Naruto finally turned to the owner of that voice and couldn't help but smile. Sakura. He'd been so worried about her.

The blond began to pull his hands before him so he could sign, but frowned when they didn't move. Looking up, he realized why, and it also answered the 'why are my arms numb?' question. His wrists were locked tightly together above him, held in manacles. He was dangling about an inch off the floor, which would explain why his arms had gone numb. His wrists were supporting all his weight.

"Naruto?" He looked back at Sakura. "You can't talk to me. Your arms are immobile and your chakra..." she trailed off, sighing as she motioned her own manacles, which also held her an inch off the ground. "These chains suck chakra, I think. Otherwise, I'd have been free by now."

Naruto sighed. That was the only disadvantage for Sakura. Once her chakra was gone, so was her super strength.

Looking around, he tried to establish where they were. The room was so dark it was hard to make anything out. The walls were made of stone and a torch rested against the wall by the door across the room, the only light illuminating the dank dungeon. Other than that, there was nothing. Just him and Sakura, both suspended from the ceiling.

Naruto looked down at himself, trying to establish what had happened since he's passed out. For one thing, he finally noticed the cloth tied around his head, gagging him. Oh, the irony. He'd been relieved of his weapons—surprise, surprise—and his Jounin vest was gone. In fact, everything was gone save for his black pants.

Naruto felt very, very exposed.

"I watched your wound heal." Naruto looked up at Sakura, noting she was also stripped of everything save her black undershirt and black pants. She had a piece of cloth around her neck, indicating she'd been gagged once, but had managed to remove it. "They let you heal for a while before putting on the chakra-sucking chains. They obviously want you alive." Her eyes fell to Naruto's chest, where the wound had previously been. "It looked like it was doing fine. You've been out for a while, though. I was scared too much blood had gotten into your lungs."

Naruto just shook his head at this. Sakura should've known better. Kyuubi wouldn't have let it happen.

Naruto spent the next five minutes pondering how to ask Sakura a question he desperately wanted answered. How ask a question with no voice, no hands, and no chakra? He sighed, annoyed, hating that fucking ambush that had caused him to lose his voice. If he ever saw the fucker who'd done it again, Naruto was going to kick his ass to hell and then follow him there to beat the unholy shit out of him again for all eternity.

"You must have questions." Naruto looked up at Sakura. "I'll try and answer questions I think you may be asking me, but please be patient." Naruto merely nodded before motioning around the room with his head.

"Where are we?" He nodded. "Sound, I believe. I was unconscious since the battle, and when I woke up, we were here. Based on our blueprints, I'd say this is one of the dungeons." Naruto cocked an eyebrow, silently telling her this was obvious. "Don't get cocky." she snapped irritably.

Naruto sighed again before trying to think of how to ask his next question. He lightly hit his forehead against his upper arm, Sakura frowning at the action, unsure of what he was asking. He did it a few more times before sighing and looking around. He was trying to motion his hitai-ate to inquire about the other Konoha shinobi.

"Sorry, I don't understand."

Naruto sighed again, looking around. He looked back at her again and closed his left eye. This she understood. She wasn't known as the smartest kunoichi in Konoha for nothing.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto nodded. "I don't know. You were the only one in here when I woke up. I don't know what happened to him, or the others."

Naruto then lowered his head, glaring at Sakura through his bangs.

"Sasuke-kun?" He nodded again. "I haven't seen him. I don't know what's going on. I don't even know how much time has passed since we've been down here. Could've been hours, could've been days."

Naruto lowered his head with a sigh. This really, _really_ sucked.

It was hopeless.

"Don't you _dare_ give up, Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto's head snapped up and he found himself glaring into cold, green eyes. "Don't make me come over there and beat you! The Naruto _I_ know would _never_ give up like that! What, just because it's Sasuke-kun, you'll hang there to rot?" Naruto's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "I'm a damsel in distress, dammit! Save me! It's what the hero always does, right?" She offered him a weak smile, and he couldn't help but smile back—or, try to. The gag kind of made it hard.

Taking a deep breath and grabbing the chains above the manacles, Naruto grunted as he hauled himself up so his face was level with his hands, staring at the cuffs around his wrists.

_Okay... _

_Now what?_

Naruto let himself fall back down and felt pain shoot up his arms from jerking them. He tried to whimper, but of course, he wasn't even granted _that _luxury.

_Stupid voice box, I fucking hate you! I want to whimper!_

Naruto sighed as he looked up at his hands, and then frowned. He didn't need chakra to call the fox forth. Maybe Kyuubi could find a way out of this. His hands were still somewhat mobile, so he was sure he could do his seals. Signing was impossible to do, but a seal shouldn't be too bad.

Sakura watched him, frowning as she recognized the seals he was doing.

"That's not going to help." she whispered, Naruto slumping limply in his chains again, unconscious. Sakura had seen this loads of times before. When the fox couldn't come to Naruto, he pulled Naruto to him.

_

* * *

Naruto walked through the dark corridors, his feet splashing against the water, and pipes dripping said water onto him. He hurried through the passages, not sure how long he had. He reached the large Kyuubi cage and saw the fox in human form pacing on the other side restlessly. The second he saw Naruto, he rounded on him angrily behind his bars. _

"_Idiot! What happened?.!" Naruto never knew his face could look so menacing, but the fox showed him it was definitely possible. _

"_Sasuke." Naruto said simply. The fox's mouth snapped shut and he growled. It rumbled throughout the large room, causing the floor to shake._

"_That bastard!" Kyuubi hollered angrily. "How dare that mortal do this to my host's body?.! Does he not **know** how important you are to my survival?.!"_

"_Wow, Fox, for a second there, I thought you cared." Naruto stated drily. _

"_Don't get cocky, kit." Kyuubi growled. "You know I care for you more than I let on."_

"_We have a problem." Naruto stated, ignoring Kyuubi's last comment. "Can you switch with me?" _

_Kyuubi shook his head, running his hand through his flaming red hair. "No, I can't. I felt your call, but something is keeping me here."_

"_Probably the chakra constrictor. Sakura can't even get free."_

"_Where are we?" Kyuubi demanded._

"_Sound."_

"_You're going to kill Uchiha, right?" The fox's eyes narrowed. Naruto ignored the question._

"_Is there anything you can do to get us out of this? Break my chains, at least? Anything at all?" _

"_As much as I hate to admit it, no. There's nothing I can do." Naruto sighed._

"_I guess we're screwed, then." _

"_Do not always rely on my power, brat!" the fox snapped, the room rumbling due to his anger. Naruto stared at him wide-eyed. "You have your own power, which is far greater than my own! Focus on escaping with that!" And then, Naruto felt himself being jerked backwards._

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes, shaking his head to clear his vision. 

"Welcome back." He looked up at Sakura. "I knew it wouldn't work. We're going to have to figure out a way out of here without his help." Sakura's mouth snapped shut as they both heard footsteps echoing down the corridor outside their door. It didn't mean whoever was coming would be entering their room—there were a lot of dungeons down here, after all—but they didn't want to get caught with Sakura talking. They needed to stay out of people's minds for as long as possible.

They heard a door somewhere down the corridor squeak open before Kabuto spoke.

"Hello, Kakashi. I'm going to have fun with you."

Naruto's eyes widened as he began struggling wildly. _Shit! **Shit!** Kabuto's going to **destroy** him! _

Naruto began swinging, trying anything he could think of to get free. When the swinging did nothing, he pulled himself up again, trying to see how the manacles were attached so he could release them. Nothing he saw helped.

Both Naruto and Sakura's heads snapped towards the door as they heard an ear-shattering scream.

"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura whispered, tears welling in her eyes. This was bad. This was so very, very bad!

The screaming was so loud it blocked out the sound of footsteps coming to their room. Neither knew they had a visitor until the door swung open and both stared at a face they both loved and hated.

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura whispered.

The raven said nothing as he stepped into the room, closing the door and placing his hand against it. Instantly, the screaming beyond the door stopped, indicating he'd soundproofed the room with chakra.

"Sasuke-kun, how could you?.! Naruto could've died!" Sakura screamed angrily. "And Kakashi-sensei! How can you just _stand_ there and ignore what Kabuto is—" She was cut off as Sasuke appeared before her, putting the gag back in place. This didn't stop Sakura. She continued to try and speak through it, although obviously, it was all muffled.

"I don't want to hear your annoying voice." Sasuke stated before turning his back on her and walking over to Naruto. "I want to hear the dobe's."

Naruto merely narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. Even if he _had_ a voice, after hearing _that_, he wouldn't have spoken at all, just to piss the bastard off.

Sasuke walked slowly around Naruto, inspecting him from every angle. "You haven't changed much since I last saw you. I didn't expect you to. You always were a loser."

Naruto ignored what he said, staring straight ahead at Sakura, who was breathing hard, anger evident in her eyes. He didn't think it had anything to do with the fact that Sasuke had brushed her off. She was furious about what was happening to Kakashi, and Sasuke was doing nothing about it.

Was this really who Sasuke had become? Another version of Itachi?

Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of Naruto again and grabbed his gag. He ripped the cloth from Naruto's head, causing a few strands of hair stuck in the knot at the back to rip free from his head. He would've bitten out a curse had he possessed the ability to. Since he lacked it, he settled for gritting his teeth and glaring at Sasuke.

The raven ignored the glare and placed his hand flat against Naruto's chest. The blond convulsed violently as chakra was forced into his body. He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain, not even noticing as Sasuke bent down in front of him, coming level with Naruto's stomach, where the seal had appeared due to the chakra forced into his body.

"So, this is the seal, huh?" Sasuke said as he examined it with his eyes. "The Kyuubi no Kitsune." He stood up, smirking at Naruto. The blond just glared. "You know, I knew that a loser like you wouldn't be able to match me like you did all those times. You're not strong enough. It was this—_thing_ inside you that gave you that power."

There was no warning before Sasuke's hand collided with Naruto's face. Sakura winced as the sharp sound reverberated in the empty dungeon. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hair, forcing the blond to look at him as he bit out his next words.

"How _dare_ you call yourself my equal when you _cheated_ in such a manner! Using the Kyuubi's powers to attain everything you did. You _disgust_ me!" Sasuke punched Naruto this time instead of slapping him. Naruto winced, spitting out blood as a small trail of it dribbled down the side of his mouth.

_Nice, _Naruto thought, almost sighing. _And here **I** thought we'd have a fair fight._ Naruto should've known better; Sasuke knew his strength. He wouldn't challenge Naruto to a fair fight unless he'd gained enough power to beat him. Naruto had won last time, and the only reason Sasuke had escaped was because the Sound Four—different from the ones that had been sent to Konoha to fetch Sasuke, and the ones they'd encountered earlier—had come to protect him. Naruto had killed them all, but during the battle, Kabuto had appeared and whisked away with Sasuke. Naruto had saved Sasuke from being taken over by Orochimaru for another three years, but of course, the Uchiha would never admit he'd been saved. Too proud. _Fucking bastard,_ Naruto thought, annoyed.

As if reading his thoughts merely by looking into his eyes, Sasuke punched Naruto in the gut. The blond gasped, trying to suck in air. He gulped loudly before coughing, trying to hunch over instinctively to protect his stomach.

"I know what you were thinking, demon." Naruto's eyes snapped up at this word. The blond had never felt those words hurt him as much as they did coming out of his best friend's mouth. For even though Sasuke had tried to kill him, even though Sasuke had abandoned him, he was still Naruto's best friend. And a best friend would _never_ utter those words to him. _Ever_.

Sakura was obviously infuriated by Sasuke's words, and she began thrashing angrily, kicking her legs, trying to hit Sasuke. The bastard had to _pay_! Day and night, the pink-haired kunoichi kept Naruto safe from those words. Safe from the evil of the people of the village. And now, those words had just come out of _Uchiha Sasuke's_ mouth. That was _unacceptable_.

Sasuke himself ignored the girl behind him, gazing into Naruto's blue eyes. They were filled with hurt. He hadn't necessarily wanted that. He just wanted Naruto to say something. The blond had had his gag off for some time now, and still he said nothing. Sasuke had expected verbal abuse the second the gag came off. Instead, he received eerie silence and glares. He was acting almost exactly like Sasuke.

The raven frowned at this, displeased. This boy wasn't supposed to be silent. He wasn't supposed to glare and just hang there without yelling or trying to hurt Sasuke. He was supposed to shout at him, lash out, hurt him verbally to equal all the physical blows Sasuke sent him. But he didn't. Sasuke felt his world beginning to crash around him. He didn't understand. Why wasn't Naruto the same?.!

Anger replaced confusion, because it was more satisfying. Sasuke enjoyed it more. He pulled out a kunai and before either Konoha shinobi could realize what had happened, he drove the kunai into Naruto's shoulder up to the hilt. The blond's mouth opened in a silent scream as Sasuke twisted the kunai viciously inside Naruto's flesh, tearing it, destroying it.

Sasuke growled. Still the blond made no sound.

"If you won't scream, dobe, I'll fucking _make_ you!" Sasuke screamed angrily as he pulled out another kunai, aiming for Naruto's stomach. He wrenched the kunai in Naruto's shoulder out the second the one in his other hand connected with the ANBU's stomach. "Come on, Naruto! Scream for me!"

Naruto found it hard to breathe as he was invaded with a sensation he'd hardly ever felt before in his life. Pain. Unbelievably excruciating pain. Naruto had never felt anything like it, and he soon realized why it hurt so much. Kyuubi couldn't heal it.

His eyes widened at this realization as he saw Sasuke aiming the kunai that had been in his shoulder. With wide eyes, Naruto watched the kunai fly through the air to hit him in the hip. He had a feeling this was going to be one of the worst days of his life.

* * *

Naruto awoke with a muted groan, his mind struggling for consciousness. His head was pounding unmercifully, and he could feel dry blood caked to the back of his head, as well as other places on his body.

_Bastard,_ he thought angrily. _He couldn't even clean the blood off. That's going to be hell to get out if my hair later._

Of course, that was when Naruto realized it _would_ be hell, provided he was still _around_ later. He might very well die. Especially if Orochimaru decided to extract Kyuubi.

The blond shifted gingerly and winced as all his wounds clamoured for attention at once. Sasuke had been harsh, no doubt about that. Naruto was sure it was going to get much, much worse, though.

He heard something that could have been a muffled version of his name and turned his head slightly. That was when he realized he was no longer hanging from the ceiling. He tried to move his arms and legs, and realized he was strapped down to a table. He hoped it was in a kinky way. He really, _really_ wished it was in a kinky way.

_Why couldn't it be in a kinky way?.!_

He heard the muffled version of his name again and his eyes focused on Sakura. She was still chained to the ceiling, and her eyes were red and puffy, as if she'd been crying. She probably had been. There wasn't a scratch on her, but he knew she'd been crying. Probably for him.

Naruto made a mental note to thank Sasuke. He hadn't hurt Sakura. That was good enough for him at the moment. As long as she was all right, he was all right.

He offered her a weak smile, which was probably a bad idea, because tears began cascading down her cheeks again. Her body shook as she cried, unable to look at Naruto. He sighed, turning to stare at the ceiling again.

How long had he been unconscious? He hated not having any concept of time; it bothered him. His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn't eaten for—he didn't know how long, but it had been a while. The last meal he'd had was right before leaving for this mission. Man, he wanted some ramen.

Sakura's head shot up and Naruto's turned to the door as they heard footsteps. Naruto silently prayed they were coming for him, and not Kakashi or Sakura. He couldn't stand to lie there and listen to his former sensei scream. It was more than he could bear. Hearing Kakashi scream in agony was truly the worst torture thus far, in his opinion. Someone as strong as Kakashi had no reason to scream.

His wish was granted as the door opened slowly to show Sasuke. Sakura began trying to talk again, but the gag stopped her, so Sasuke just ignored her. He closed the door behind himself and walked up to Naruto, putting a vial of something down beside the blond's head.

Naruto just stared at Sasuke, wondering what kind of sadistic ideas he was going to come up with this time. He knew Sasuke wouldn't stop. All he'd said earlier that day—or was it yesterday?—was he wanted to hear Naruto scream. Naruto would've complied after a certain point, but he couldn't. It wasn't his fault.

If only Sasuke would _let_ someone _tell _him that! Then again, would he stop? Probably not.

"Ready to cooperate?" Sasuke inquired as he removed Naruto's gag. "You realize I'm going to continue with this until you scream, right? And _then_ we'll start with the interrogations."

Naruto looked away from Sasuke. The sadistic smirk on his face didn't suit him.

The Sharingan constantly activated didn't suit him.

The Sound ninja's outfit didn't suit him.

Nothing that made Sasuke look different suited him.

Naruto wanted _his_ Sasuke back.

The blond winced as he was slapped across the face. Hard. Blood trickled from a reopened cut at the corner of his mouth as Sasuke grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look at him.

"Why are you being so fucking brave, dobe?" Sasuke hissed angrily. "Sakura doesn't love you, so why are you trying to impress her?"

Sakura began trying to yell again at this, but again, Sasuke just ignored her.

"I am losing my patience." he hissed at the blond, chirping beginning to be heard in the room. Naruto watched as Sasuke's free hand—the one not tugging mercilessly at his hair—came into view, Chidori blazing in it.

Sasuke lowered his hand to Naruto's stomach, the edges of the damaging attack grazing the blond's skin. Naruto grit his teeth as burns began to form on his stomach, his muscles jerking uncontrollably. Wounds began to reopen due to the treatment they received and blood oozed out of them.

Sasuke moved his hand up, leaving a large burn line from Naruto's stomach to just below his neck, and then sucked the chakra back into his hand, closing it. Chidori was gone.

"What do I have to do _to hear your voice again_?.!" Sasuke demanded, his eyes narrowed.

When he received no reply, he growled and released Naruto, grabbing a strap that hadn't been attached. He tied it around Naruto's head, securing the blond's head in place so he couldn't turn it. He then placed one finger on either side of his eyelids, holding his right eye open. Surging chakra into the blond's skin, his eye was forced to stay open, no matter how hard he tried to close it. Sasuke repeated the process with Naruto's left eye before picking up the vial he'd dropped beside Naruto's head.

He held the vial in front of Naruto's eyes. "Do you know what this is?"

Naruto seemed to be ignoring him. Sasuke just smirked.

"This is acid, Naruto-_kun_." Naruto's already wide eyes opened even wider. Even Sakura was pulling wildly at her bonds, trying to get free.

This was bad. Very, _very_ bad.

"Finally, a reaction I anticipated. Fear." Sasuke pulled away from Naruto, opening the vial of acid. "You must be terrified of losing your eyes, Naruto. After all, they must be the most precious thing to you."

Naruto's head jerked back as if he'd been slapped. If Sasuke believed that, then he truly knew _nothing_ about Naruto. Naruto valued his voice more than anything else, but now that he'd lost that, and his eyes were in danger, he would admit, yes, his eyes were probably the next most important thing to him.

"You can't be a ninja anymore without eyes. So scream, Naruto, or I'll give you a reason to scream." Sasuke said as he put the vial's stopper down and leaned over Naruto, the acid in his hand. "All I want is to hear your voice, Naruto. I want to hear you speak to me. If you don't, then you can say goodbye to your eyes."

Naruto began to hyperventilate as Sakura screamed helplessly from the other side of the room, trying to tell Sasuke that Naruto _couldn't _speak. She fought savagely against her bonds, trying desperately to pull her gag off. To do _something_!

_Sasuke-kun! Naruto can't speak! Please!_ she thought wildly, trying to get his attention.

Just like all the other times, the Uchiha ignored her, unaware that what he was asking for was impossible.

Naruto opened his mouth, trying to make a sound come out. A squeak, a whimper, _anything_! He wanted so badly to give Sasuke what he wanted, but he just _couldn't_, dammit!

"You have until I reach ten." Sasuke said as he positioned the vial above Naruto's left eye. Naruto's breathing was short and ragged as he opened his mouth again, forming words with his lips, but no sound emitting from his throat.

"One."

Sakura struggled madly.

"Two."

Naruto tried to force something to come out.

"Three."

Sasuke tilted the vial.

"Four."

Sakura screamed through her gag, trying to make Sasuke understand.

"Five."

Naruto's eyes widened as he thought of never being able to see again.

"Six."

Sasuke stared into the terrified blue eyes before him.

"Seven."

Sakura began swinging, trying to kick Sasuke or something so he would pay attention to her.

"Eight."

Naruto stopped struggling and just lay there. It was over.

"Nine."

_This is it,_ Naruto thought, tears falling from his eyes. _I'm going to be blind. I won't be able to speak. I won't be able to see. My dream—I'll never be Hokage. How can I be Hokage if I'm blind? What kind of ninja can I be if I'm blind? It's over._

"Ten."

Naruto watched helplessly as the vial tipped, the liquid closer and closer to falling into his eye.

* * *

**A/N: And after such a happy chapter :cough, cough: my muse drew a pic for me without even telling me! It's so amazing, and I love her for it! You can find it here (take out the brackets and spaces): www (.) deviantart (.) com /view/ 33458897/**


	7. Mute

**Disclaimer- :tattoos 'property of FastForward' on Kiba's chest, only to have it surgically removed by K. Masashi:**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_Words are the voice of the heart."  
_- Confucius

Sasuke watched as he tipped the vial, silently praying for Naruto to say something. _Anything_! He didn't want to do this; he just wanted to hear his voice. He just wanted to know that nothing had changed. Sasuke wanted to know that he was still better.

But Naruto wasn't complying. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. This made Sasuke even angrier. The blond baka was just making fun of him!

"Ten." he finally said, tipping the vial even more so the first drop of acid would fall into the blond's left eye.

"Sasuke-sama." Sasuke pulled the vial back, the liquid just barely having been retained within the vial as he turned to look at Mitsuru. "Orochimaru-sama wishes to speak with you."

"I'm busy." he said coldly, his face a stoic mask of indifference.

"He requests your presence, and will not take no for an answer." Sasuke heard the warning in that tone. As much as he didn't want to, he was going to have to go.

Turning back to the blond, who had tears running down his face, he smirked. "We'll finish this later, dobe."

With those words, the raven grabbed the stopper for the vial of acid before he turned and exited the room, closing the door behind himself. His two teammates were left alone.

Naruto breathed hard as he closed his eyes, the chakra holding them open having disappeared once Sasuke left. Tears flowed down his face as he thought of how close he'd been to losing his eyesight.

Was this really Sasuke? Was this the same Sasuke he'd known back when they were twelve?

"_Really... You're a burden... All the time."_

"_You did it, Sasuke...!"_

"_Look at yourself... You idiot..."_

"_Why?.! You protected me..."_

"_Who... knows... I hated... you."_

"_Why?.! Why?.! Why did you protect me...?.! I didn't ask you to!"_

"_Who knows... My body moved on its own, idiot..."_

"_Sasuke!"_

"_That man... I didn't want to die until I killed my brother... You... don't die."_

No, this couldn't be Sasuke. It _couldn't_ be!

Naruto wanted to cry. Naruto wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. He wanted to break things, hurt people. He wanted to destroy everything because nothing was as it should be.

This was _not_ Sasuke.

The Sasuke they all knew was truly gone, and he wasn't coming back.

Sakura watched Naruto as he just lay there, crying and hyperventilating. Tears were falling across her own cheeks, and she knew she would never forgive Sasuke for this.

He was actually going to do it. She could tell. He was about to pour the acid into Naruto's gorgeous blue eyes, and blind someone who used to be his best friend. He hadn't tried to listen to Sakura. He hadn't tried to understand why Naruto had his mouth open but no words were coming out. He was just—sadistic. And evil.

Sakura wondered how she could ever have liked someone like him.

She said Naruto's name, having it muffled by the gag. Naruto didn't react. He just continued to cry. Sakura couldn't blame him.

She wanted to comfort him, and to do that, she had to remove the gag. Besides, if she wanted to tell Sasuke the truth about why Naruto wasn't making a sound, she needed to be able to speak. She needed to stop the raven before he did something she would never forgive him for—even though everything he'd done so far was beyond forgiveness.

* * *

Sasuke walked into Orochimaru's chambers, both annoyed and relieved at having been interrupted. _God_, that idiot was so _fucking stupid_! Why hadn't he just said _one_ word? Just one! A squeak, a scream, Sasuke's name—_anything_! 

Sasuke shook his head as he made his way to the table Orochimaru was sitting at, taking a seat across from the Kage of Sound.

"Sasuke-kun." He smirked at the young Uchiha. "How has your visit with Naruto-kun been?"

"Is this the only reason you've interrupted me?" Sasuke asked as he narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms, annoyed. The snake man frowned angrily at Sasuke's disrespect, but he let it slide—for now, anyway.

"I am going to have a test." Sasuke cocked his eyebrow. "I want to test the Kyuubi vessel's powers. Mitsuru, Kaiza, Verity and Kazuma have told me his power is great, and he subdued three of them at once before dealing with Kaiza. I may have use for him other than just extracting the Kyuubi."

"He's kinda hot, too." Sasuke jerked around as he heard Verity, unaware that the Sound Four had entered. He turned back to Orochimaru hastily to assess his reaction to these words. His heart fell into the pit of his stomach as he saw the glint in Orochimaru's eyes.

"I have not seen Naruto-kun for three years. Not since the incident with Sai back when he was fifteen. Perhaps I should—investigate his new look."

Sasuke felt sick to his stomach. He would rather have the snake bastard running his slimy hands all over him rather than doing anything to Naruto. Whether Sasuke was a traitor or not, he still regarded Naruto as his best friend—despite everything he'd been doing to the blond. To have Orochimaru touch him—that was the worst torture ever. No, Sasuke couldn't let it happen. He'd rather kill the blond than force him to go through that.

"He hasn't changed." Sasuke said smoothly, causing Orochimaru to look at him. Sasuke leaned back in his chair, avoiding the snake's gaze as he turned his head to stare at the wall in a bored manner. "He's still the same blond dobe he was the last time you saw him."

"Same or not, the guy is _hot_." Sasuke grit his teeth. He was going to _snap_ Verity's _fucking neck_!

"I must see him either way. I will have him fight the four of you once Sasuke-kun has finished with him. Has he not satisfied your need for pain, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked back at him, his eyes narrowed. "No."

"Well then, I suggest you return to your fun. I shall not interrupt you again until you are satisfied."

Sasuke saw the glint in the man's eyes and decided he would stretch this out as long as possible.

"Orochimaru-sama?" Sasuke and Orochimaru turned to Mitsuru, and Sasuke could practically _feel_ the sadism radiating off the other man. "Once Sasuke-sama has finished, may we torture him?" Mitsuru motioned himself and the other Sound Four. "Once we have finished with him, he will have no will to fight left in him. He will be more—submissive."

Sasuke couldn't help the growl from rising in his throat. He wanted Naruto to fight with everything he had when the snake bastard brought him to his room.

"No." Orochimaru said, causing Mitsuru to wince. "Once Sasuke-kun has finished with him, you will fight him so we can measure his strength. Then, I will have him. Afterwards, you may do whatever you wish with him as long as you do not kill him. Of course, provided he is worth keeping. If not, you can torture him to your heart's content and then we shall extract the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Sasuke's heart took up residence in his throat. He'd never prayed for Naruto to be stronger in his life. He didn't want his best friend to die!

Sasuke's head snapped back, startled at these thoughts. He'd always known the blond was important to him, but Sasuke had always thought it was because he knew no matter how hard the other boy tried, Sasuke was always better than him. Now, Sasuke realized that Naruto was important to him. Really important. Even after all these years, Sasuke had just thought of Naruto as his best friend.

He also realized that when he'd entered Naruto and Sakura's dungeon, he'd soundproofed the room to stop himself from hearing Kakashi's agonized screams. He'd also interrupted Verity while she'd been torturing Neji and made out with her, if only to keep her away from the Hyuuga for a little while.

_Dear God, what the fuck is happening to me?_ Sasuke thought, confused.

Was he loyal to Sound—or Konoha?

* * *

Naruto struggled wildly as two Sound nins came into the room, one of them injecting something into his arm before he went limp. He was still awake, and was aware of everything that was going on around him, but he couldn't move. 

His straps were undone and he was lifted off the table, dragged limply to his previous location. The Sound nins grunted as they struggled to pull his muscular form into a standing position. One of them held him as the other went to the other end of the manacles and lowered the chain until it was within reach. The two of them held Naruto's arms up, clapping the metal cuffs around his wrists. Naruto grit his teeth as one of the cuffs closed on his skin, causing his wrist to start bleeding heavily. The Sound nins noticed, but did nothing. Naruto silently prayed he would just bleed to death.

Of course, this thought earned him a growl from Kyuubi, but he ignored it. He could take a lot of shit from people, especially growing up in Konoha as the Kyuubi vessel, but his best friend torturing him was one thing he _couldn't _take. That was just a little hard to wrap his head around.

_Look on the bright side, _he sighed to himself. _At least you know your eyes are safe, since you're not lying on the table anymore. _

He heard mumbling and looked up at Sakura, the action in itself almost impossible since he couldn't move due to the drug. He managed to get his head up, leaning it to the side to rest against his lifted arm so he could keep it up. He sighed relieved as he noticed Sakura was still fine. He was glad.

He'd passed out on the table a while back and had woken up only about two minutes before the Sound nins had come in. He hadn't looked at Sakura, his mind still playing on the fact that he'd almost lost his eyes. He felt kind of guilty now, worrying about himself over Sakura. That wasn't right.

Sakura had tears streaming down her face, and Naruto forced himself to smile, mouthing that he was okay. He saw anger flash in her eyes and winced. He'd forgotten he wasn't allowed to say he was okay to Sakura. She always knew he wasn't okay. And especially not now. But, honestly, what was he supposed to say? He was being tortured mercilessly by his own best friend! Naruto was caught between wanting to laugh at the irony of it all, and cry at the fact that this was happening.

Was this _truly_ Sasuke? Naruto was almost willing to bet it was Itachi using a fucking _Henge_ or something. When had Sasuke become so cold and uncaring? Naruto snorted. _Right, stupid question. The bastard was **always** cold and uncaring._

_But... this much?_

Naruto's head snapped up and Sakura turned to look at the door as they heard footsteps. Naruto had passed out again. How long had he been unconscious? They couldn't be coming back for him already! Dammit, couldn't Sasuke give him a few minutes of fucking _peace_?.!

The footsteps stopped outside the door and it creaked open slowly, Naruto's heart beating wildly in his chest as he saw the silhouette of Sasuke in the doorway. The Uchiha walked into the room before closing the door behind him and placing his hand on the door to soundproof the room, like he always did. Whether it was to stop people outside from listening in, or stop them all from hearing what was going on outside, Naruto didn't know. Of course, he would've _asked_ if he'd had the _ability_ to!

_Honestly, Sasuke doesn't know me at all. Probably never did, _Naruto thought sadly. _First, he thinks my eyes are the most important thing to me, and then he thinks I'm not screaming because I'm trying to be brave. I thought he was smart, yet he can't piece it together. _Naruto paused for a second, frowning. _Well, at least this answers my scar question. I must not have it if he hasn't noticed a large, gaping hole used to be in my throat._

Naruto's head turned to the side as Sasuke punched him. Naruto didn't bother looking back at the raven. He'd just get hit again. Either way, he was forced to look back at Sasuke because the other boy grabbed the blond locks of his best friend and forced him to face him. Red Sharingan eyes locked on solid blue.

"Ready to talk, dobe?" Naruto glared, but kept his mouth shut. Obviously, Sasuke was never going to get it. There was no point in trying to explain and get hit again for "pretending" he couldn't speak. Heaven forbid he should insult the precious Uchiha Sasuke.

Whether he'd kept his mouth closed or not, it didn't really matter. Sasuke was annoyed that he was being ignored, and he promptly hit the blond across the face again, seeing the bruising already present from his previous beatings turning darker. He glanced at Naruto and took note of all his injuries. All the injuries Sasuke himself had inflicted on him.

The burns. The cuts. The bruises. They were all him.

_Yet he'll never know how much better this is than what Orochimaru is planning to do to him, _Sasuke thought with a frown. Sasuke himself was strong, he knew this. He was stronger than Naruto. Always had been, always would be, despite how the blond was acting now. Sasuke had barely been able to stand himself after the first time with Orochimaru, but constant training and being taught new Jutsus allowed him to retain a part of himself that made him able to deal with what the snake was doing to him.

Naruto was too innocent; too pure. He would come out of that completely broken, and Sasuke wasn't ready to see that, no matter how much he tried to convince himself he didn't care about the blond.

Truth was, he did. He cared about Naruto. He cared about Sakura, too. And Kakashi, and Neji, and all the other Konoha shinobi, even the ones he didn't know. This was his _village_! The people being tortured were a part of his past! Sure, it had been grim, but some moments had been special.

After all, if Sasuke didn't care, he wouldn't have saved Naruto from Haku all those years ago. He wouldn't have broken Zaku's arms mercilessly for injuring Sakura while he and Naruto were unconscious. He wouldn't have been worried about Kakashi when he found out Itachi had used Mangekyou on him.

No, Sasuke cared. Despite trying not to, despite telling himself he didn't need these people—he did. And that was why he was going to torture Naruto until the blond screamed. He was going to keep that as his breaking point to enable Naruto to stay sheltered from Orochimaru for as long as possible. Naruto was being stubborn, and Sasuke was confident the blond would keep his mouth shut for a while yet.

Besides, Sasuke couldn't deny this fact, either: he _wanted _to hurt Naruto. Why was he so damn special all the time? Just because of that _fucking_ demon in him? He was acknowledged by Itachi, by Orochimaru—Jiraiya had taken him in as his apprentice and Tsunade regarded him as a son. The three powerful Sannin and Uchiha Itachi all regarded him as strong and important.

_**WHY?.!**_

Because of that fucking _demon fox_?.! Sasuke would've _gladly_ taken that damn parasite if it meant the power to destroy his brother! Naruto always looked at it as a burden, but Sasuke saw it for what Naruto should've: a gift. A chance to be the best, no matter the odds. And for this, Sasuke hated him. Always had, always would.

But friendship was always stronger than hate, and no matter how much Sasuke hated him, he wanted to protect him. And so, he would. He would torture Naruto both because he wanted to hurt Naruto, and because he wanted to protect him.

Only an Uchiha could think in such a twisted, sadistic way.

"Still holding your tongue, huh, Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he pulled out a kunai, playing with it as he walked around Naruto, inspecting every inch of him, staring at every wound he'd inflicted. It made him smirk that Kyuubi wasn't healing him. This was probably all so new to Naruto.

"Pain." Sasuke whispered from right behind Naruto, leaning close so his lips brushed against the blond's ear. "It's not something you're used to, is it, dobe? I mean, of _course_ you've _felt_ it before. I was always saving your ass on missions. But _Kyuubi_—" Sasuke spat out the name, "always healed them for you. You felt the pain, but only for a second." He shifted so he was speaking into Naruto's other ear now. "How does it feel to experience pain like a normal person?" Sasuke dug the kunai into Naruto's side and the blond screwed his eyes shut, his mouth open in a silent scream.

In a way, Naruto was glad he had no voice box. He would've turned himself mute anyway just screaming in pain the whole time he was in Sound. Vaguely, he wondered if he'd live long enough to hear his own voice again. He wondered if he'd even live to see the next day. Every time Sasuke visited, the chances of him surviving another day were getting smaller and smaller.

"Still being the hero you think you are, huh, Uzumaki?" Sasuke wrenched the kunai from Naruto's side and blood splattered on the floor and wall, more of the red liquid oozing slowly out of the wound and down his side. "Scream!"

Naruto's head began to droop as his eyes closed slowly. Everything was hazy, and he suspected it was the blood loss. After all, his entire right arm was covered in blood from the wound in his wrist that no one had bothered to cover.

"Hey, you're not passing out on me yet." Sasuke slapped Naruto across the face and the blond wheezed. Sasuke frowned. Maybe he'd taken things too far.

Walking out of the room, Sasuke headed down the corridor for the medicine cabinet. He opened it and fished around inside until he found the bottle of pills he was looking for. Kabuto was an expert at torture and he'd taught Sasuke a few things about how to keep them conscious under certain conditions. Naruto was threatening to pass out due to blood loss, so Sasuke just had to add more blood. Simple as that.

With a blood-replenishing pill in his hand, Sasuke went back to the cell and closed the door behind him. He walked up to Naruto and held his head up roughly by the hair. He forced Naruto's jaw open and forced the pill into the back of the blond's throat before clamping his mouth shut.

"Shallow it." he ordered.

Naruto didn't. He wouldn't obey Sasuke, no matter what happened! At this point, the raven was running out of things to do to Naruto, and the only thing that he would be worried about was his eyes. They appeared to be in no danger, so he didn't obey. He just glared at Sasuke, the pill sitting on his tongue.

Sasuke growled, angered at being ignored. "Fine." He let go of Naruto and walked across the room. The action caused Naruto's eyes to widen and he thanked God he hadn't spit the pill out, because there wouldn't have been any way for him to retrieve it.

Sasuke reached Sakura, who began to tremble, and brought the kunai he held—still covered in Naruto's blood—up to the pink-haired girl's face. Without even casting Naruto a glance, he cut into Sakura's left cheek, leaving a large gash, which began to ooze blood. Sakura whimpered, but made no other sound.

Sasuke turned to Naruto to see his reaction and the blond struggled wildly. "Swallow it!"

Naruto stopped his struggling, breathing hard. What could he do? He couldn't just let Sakura be hurt like that because he wouldn't swallow a fucking pill! He didn't know what the pill was, this was true, but Sakura in pain wasn't an option.

Naruto's blood-loss made his mind foggy, and it took him longer than usual to think about the consequences, which gave Sasuke enough time to cut another gash into Sakura's cheek. Naruto began struggling again to get Sasuke's attention and the raven turned to him.

"Well?"

Naruto locked eyes with Sakura, but the girl just shook her head, her eyes wide with fear. Naruto smiled sadly before he closed his eyes and swallowed.

Sakura held her breath, fearing the worst for her best friend, but then she noticed his wounds beginning to bleed heavily again, and frowned. Sasuke had—replenished his blood? What the fuck was the Uchiha _doing_?.!

"Damn dobe." Sasuke growled as he turned away from Sakura, completely ignoring her existence once again. "I give you blood to keep you alive, and then I have to threaten fucking Sakura to get you to swallow it."

Naruto just glared, something he seemed to be doing a lot lately. The Uchiha's presence just seemed to infuriate him.

"Don't look at me like that!" Sasuke hollered, slashing at Naruto's cheek with the kunai. Naruto winced slightly as the metal bit into his skin, but otherwise did nothing.

"Don't!"

Slash to the face.

"Fucking!"

Slash to the chest.

"Look!"

Slash to the right arm.

"At!"

Slash to the left arm.

"Me!"

Slash to the stomach.

"Like!"

Slash to the face again.

"**_That!"_**

Sasuke punched Naruto hard across the face, panting in anger. His fist was covered in blood, but none of it was his own. The various wounds on Naruto were all bleeding slowly and Sasuke cursed the fact that Naruto would bleed to death before he'd even finished with him.

The raven concentrated chakra into his hand and began to move it across the blond's skin where wounds were bleeding. He did nothing but stem the blood-flow, keeping the wounds still open and raw. He wanted Naruto to hurt—he just needed him alive to _feel_ it.

He walked behind Naruto, tapping the blood-covered kunai against his lips in thought as he inspected the blond's back. He'd been neglecting it, and it was smooth and injury-free. That wouldn't do, not in the slightest. Sasuke began slashing at the blond's back, drawing patterns in the smooth, tanned skin before he was finally satisfied with how it looked. He leaned across the blond's shoulder again, whispering in his ear. "Are you ready to scream, dobe?"

When he received no reply, he dug his fingers into the nearest cut and began pulling down, literally ripping the skin off his best friend's back. Naruto swung his legs and bucked helplessly to get Sasuke to let go, but it was futile. Sasuke blocked the weak kicks and just followed Naruto as he swung around, his fingers still buried deep in the blond's back.

He pulled his fingers out as another thought crossed his mind and he left the room again. Naruto hung from the ceiling, panting, covered in blood, and feeling pain taking over his mind. Sakura was crying across the room, but Naruto didn't even notice. And if he had, what would it have mattered? Would her tears alleviate his pain? Would her tears help them escape? No, it was better he didn't see the tears. At this point, he just wanted the pain to go away.

Sasuke returned a few seconds later, holding a small flask of clear liquid. Naruto frowned for a few seconds before he noticed the smirk on Sasuke's lips. He paled and his eyes widened, for he knew what that was.

Acid.

Naruto screwed his eyes shut, not willing to let Sasuke take something else precious to him.

"Usuratonkachi." Sasuke said as he walked around the blond and stood behind him, undoing the top of the flask. Naruto opened his eyes at this and turned his head slightly to look at Sasuke before deciding he'd rather look ahead at Sakura.

And then, Naruto felt burning pain in his back. Sasuke threw the acid onto the blond's back, Naruto's body convulsing with pain as he screwed his eyes shut and opened his mouth in a silent scream.

"Scream for me!" Sasuke hollered angrily as he threw the flask aside, the glass breaking into thousands of pieces. "Beg for me to stop!" Sasuke walked around Naruto, looking into the blond's face. He saw pain etched into every piece of his face, and this only angered him further.

Why was the blond being so _fucking stubborn_?.! Why couldn't he just _scream_ like Sasuke _wanted_ him to?.! Why couldn't he just _fucking voice his pain_?.! Sasuke just wanted to hear his voice again! Hear the pain-filled screams emit from Naruto's throat and know he was the cause. Prove that he was still better, and that Naruto would forever work to beat him.

Because that was one of the only reasons Sasuke was still alive.

To kill Itachi.

And forever be better than Uzumaki Naruto.

"Why won't you _scream_?.!" Sasuke punched the blond across the face. "What the _fuck _do I have to _do_ to make you _scream_?.!" He continued to punch the blond, hardly even noticing the blue eyes had slipped shut.

"Scream!"

Hardly noticing Sakura struggling wildly behind him.

"Scream!"

Hardly noticing Naruto was hanging limply from the chains, bleeding to death, as he was being knocked unconscious.

"_**SCREAM!"**_

"**_STOP IT!"_** Sasuke's hand froze in mid-air and he turned, stunned, as Sakura shrieked this. When had she taken her gag off? "He can't speak!" she screamed again, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Sasuke stared at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

Sakura continued to cry as she bowed her head. "He can't speak." she sobbed. "He can't speak. He can't speak. He can't speak."

She continued to repeat this. Over and over. Sasuke didn't understand.

He walked up to her and grabbed the hair at the back of her head, forcing her head up to stare into her pain-filled green eyes.

"What are you talking about?" he hissed.

"Naruto has no voice." she whispered as tears flowed endlessly down her cheeks, mixing with the blood from her wounds. "He has no voice, Sasuke." The raven stared at her dispassionately. "He wasn't trying to be brave. He wasn't trying to make you angry. He was trying to make you understand that he can't speak. He has no voice. His throat was ripped out over a year ago. He's lucky to even be alive."

Sakura saw something flicker in Sasuke's eyes, but it was gone a second later, before she could identify it.

"He can't... speak." Sasuke said in a flat tone.

"He can't speak." Sakura repeated.

Sasuke stared at her for a minute longer before letting her go and turning back to his unconscious teammate. He walked up to Naruto and stared at him, as if the answer to his silent questions could be found on the ANBU Captain.

It made sense. He hadn't yelled at Sasuke. He hadn't cried out. He hadn't even said anything when Sasuke had almost burned his eyes. He had just opened his mouth—but nothing had come out. How had Sasuke missed that?

Sasuke's heart fell into the pit of his stomach. He was never going to hear that voice again. That voice that had kept him going through all the hardships he'd endured. Just thinking of that voice taunting him had made him work harder. Become stronger. The voice of his teammate. His friend. His brother.

Naruto was important to him. Everything about him was important.

His smile.

His eyes.

His voice.

Sasuke felt—disgusted.

Not with Naruto. With himself.

Not because Naruto meant something to him, but because he'd done all of this on account of Naruto not speaking when Naruto _couldn't_ speak.

Sasuke hated himself.


	8. Sound Four I

**Disclaimer- :As K. Masashi sleeps, a dark figure looms outside him home before breaking in. Upon finding Kiba, the dark figure knocks him out before dragging him to the door. As they open the door, K. Masashi is on the other side with his arms crossed: ... I was just taking him for a walk. Honest :sweatdrop:**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

**A/N: I've recently discovered that I can write AUs more easily than the Narutoverse ones... Chances are, this'll be my last Narutoverse, but I have four ideas for an AU, so I'll still be around to bite y'all in the ass!**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_We were a silent, hidden thought in the folds of oblivion, and we have become a voice that causes the heavens to tremble."_  
- Kahlil Gibran

Uchiha Itachi exited the cave where the Akatsuki had just finished their meeting, looking out at the landscape around him. He squinted in order to see, his eyesight failing horribly. He estimated about another year or two before he became blind, not that it mattered to him. Itachi wasn't one to care too much about the future. This was especially obvious when one considered he didn't think leaving Sasuke alive would cause him so much trouble.

He growled as he thought of his younger brother, disgusted that he'd joined an Akatsuki traitor—Orochimaru.

"So, the Nine-Tails is with Orochimaru, huh?" Hoshigaki Kisame said as he walked up beside the Uchiha prodigy, his sword Samehada resting over his shoulder. "It's like killing two birds with one stone. We get the final Bijuu, and you kill your brother."

Itachi said nothing to this, merely walking forward to head for Sound. Kisame just chuckled as he followed his silent partner, knowing that Itachi was excited.

After all, Naruto was the last Jinchuuriki they needed to catch before they would have all the tailed demons in their possession. And the Nine-Tails was the strongest of them all. With him, they would be able to control the other eight.

"Are you going to let me claim the Kyuubi?" Kisame asked Itachi. "Or are you going to take credit?"

"The Kyuubi does not interest me." Itachi stated dispassionately. "I want to rectify the dishonour my bother had brought upon our clan."

Kisame couldn't hold back the snicker. Itachi was saying _Sasuke_ had dishonoured their clan? Wasn't _he_ the one who'd wiped them all out? It just seemed a little ridiculous to the ex-Mist shinobi that Itachi would find _Sasuke _a disgrace.

The Uchiha himself didn't care what Kisame thought. When he'd wanted his brother to gain power and become stronger, he hadn't meant going to Orochimaru to be his bitch and do everything the snake bastard ordered him to. An Uchiha would _not_ be lowered to the level of a grovelling slave! Not as long as Uchiha Itachi was alive to stop it!

"What were our orders with regard to Orochimaru?" Itachi asked Kisame, having walked out of the meeting halfway through. Meetings bored him.

"If we encounter him, we can kill him. If not, we let him be. Our objective is the Kyuubi, everything else comes second." Kisame shot a glance at Itachi, but the Uchiha ignored it. He knew what Kisame was trying to say. Unless they ran across Sasuke, he couldn't go looking for him. Itachi understood this. He'd just have to make sure he _did_ run into his little brother.

The two Akatsuki members took off at a run, flying through the trees, headed for Sound at break-neck speed.

* * *

"Hot damn, this is cool!" Verity exclaimed as she leaned with her elbows against the table before her, her head supported in her hands. 

She was staring at an unconscious Naruto, the chakra-sucking manacles released so his wounds could heal before his battle with the Sound Four. And the healing was very, _very_ cool. Verity just watched as wound after wound regenerated skin and tissue to cover the exposed muscles or veins. Everything closed quickly, and the burns began to bubble backwards before they, too, were gone. It was absolutely fascinating.

Once he'd completely healed, Verity had begun to cut his arm continuously with a kunai to watch it heal.

Slit. Bleed. Heal. Slit. Bleed. Heal.

Over and over, she repeated the process, and she would've been quite content to continue for hours had her hand not been caught in a strong, bone-crunching grip and wrenched away from Naruto. She let out a cry as she was wrenched from her seat, turning to stare into angered hazel eyes.

"You're exhausting his chakra." Mitsuru said, his face blank, but his eyes blazing. "We can't fight him if he has no strength." Mitsuru released her violently, sending her smashing into the wall.

The purple-haired girl clutched her left arm painfully before looking at her leader. She apologized before exiting the room hurriedly, leaving the older man to do with Naruto as he wished.

Mitsuru looked down at Naruto dispassionately before lifting the unconscious boy up and slinging him over his shoulder. Their battle would start soon, so he had to get the blond ready. Orochimaru's orders.

He walked through the corridor, headed for the outside door, when he encountered Sasuke, leaning against a wall by the exit. The raven turned to look at him as he neared before pushing off the wall, his hands in his pockets.

"Sasuke-sama." The green-haired Sound Four bowed his head respectfully.

"Is he to fight you?" Sasuke jerked his chin in Naruto's direction. Upon receiving a nod, he continued, "He has no voice."

Mitsuru cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"According to his teammate, he lost it a year ago. I don't know how he communicates, but I'd assume it's sign language. Do you know it?"

"I know enough, yes." Mitsuru replied.

"Good. When he speaks, I want to know what he says." Sasuke brushed past the Sound nin and walked down the corridor, obviously headed for the second floor.

Naruto and the Sound Four would be battling in an arena-like area, and Orochimaru and Sasuke would be able to watch the entire fight from the second floor of the main building. They were close enough to see everything and intervene if necessary, but far enough to escape if Naruto managed to get away from the Sound Four and head for Orochimaru and Sasuke.

Mitsuru dumped him on the floor in the centre of the arena and the blond jerked, his eyes slowly opening. Mitsuru held his hand out and Kaiza placed a metal choker in his hand. Before Naruto could fully recover consciousness, Mitsuru sat him up and clamped the metal instrument around the blond's neck.

Naruto's eyes snapped open at the cold around his neck and he kicked Mitsuru in the stomach before rolling backwards and getting to his feet. He looked around himself at the large arena, the Sound Four on all sides of him.

"You can use chakra." Naruto looked back at Mitsuru as he spoke. "That thing around your neck is specifically made to block Kyuubi's chakra. Wouldn't want you switching with him, now, would we?" He smiled wickedly.

Naruto glared and scanned the area for Sasuke. His eyes locked on the raven Uchiha, standing on the second floor balcony of the main house, Orochimaru beside him. The blond smirked when he noticed the disgusted look on Sasuke's face when the snake bastard moved closer.

_Serves the jerk right,_ Naruto thought.

"Naruto." He turned to look at the Sound Four, Mitsuru having spoken. "Orochimaru-sama wishes to see you fight. You _will_ comply, or you will die." Naruto just stared at him before crossing his arms. "Do you choose death?" Naruto didn't reply; he just kept his arms crossed. "What if we were to say your pink-haired friend will die?"

The blond's eyes widened as his breath caught in his throat. He would be willing to die, but Sakura... No, he couldn't do that to her. It wasn't fair. _This_ wasn't fair. Making him fucking chose between giving Orochimaru what the bastard wanted or his friends. _Damn it!_

Naruto prayed one of them could read sign language, or this was going to be a long day.

'_If you promise to not hurt the others and let them go, then I'll fight you. Otherwise, no deal. I'll find some way to kill myself, and then you'll all be fucked.'_

Mitsuru snorted at the reply and made a seal, teleporting to where Orochimaru and Sasuke were. He relayed the message, which caused Orochimaru to sneer.

"Still hasty, isn't he? Very well." Orochimaru turned to look at Naruto, who was looking up at him and Sasuke. "Tell Naruto-kun we will not hurt the others, and we will release them when we have measured the full extent of his power."

Mitsuru bowed and returned to Naruto, telling him the message.

'_That's not good enough.'_ the blond signed.

"It's going to have to be." Verity snapped back. "Come on, let's stop stalling and get this done."

"One at a time, Verity." Kaiza smirked. "I call first dibs."

"Knock yourself out." Kazuma stated as he and the other three disappeared, reappearing on the balcony with Orochimaru and Sasuke to watch the fight.

* * *

Naruto breathed hard as he looked around himself, Kaiza having turned invisible the second the others had vacated the area. Naruto couldn't lose, especially not in this first fight. If he did, he knew all of his friends would be in danger. He would be useless to them, and as long as Orochimaru could find worth in him, he could keep his friends safe. 

Kaiza laughed as the blond concentrated on pinpointing his location. One touch, and it was over. Even if he just grazed Naruto's cheek, he would fall unconscious, and who _knew _when he would wake up.

As Naruto waited, he tried to remember what he could about Kaiza. He'd only fought him briefly, and all he knew was that he could turn invisible, and knock people unconscious simply by touching them. The extent of his abilities, however, was unknown to Naruto. If Kaiza touched his covered legs, would it still knock him out? If Naruto's fist connected with Kaiza's face, would that simple skin-to-skin contact knock him out? Naruto didn't know. There were too many variables, and he _really_ wished he'd started with Verity.

Naruto suddenly lurched backwards as a huge dog leapt out of the ground at his feet, its sand jaws snapping, trying to catch Naruto's leg.

_Shit!_ Naruto thought as he did a few back handsprings to put some distance between them. _This guy also controlled those fucking sand dog things!_

Naruto did a final handspring before twisting in the air, landing behind the dog and kicking it harshly in the back, sending it back into the ground as a pile of sand.

The ANBU Captain then ducked, and he felt the air above him shift. He cartwheeled away from the location he'd just been standing in, seeing the ground distort beneath Kaiza's feet as the invisible Sound nin followed him. He pushed off the wall behind him and spun in the air, kicking Kaiza soundly against the jaw, praying he wouldn't fall unconscious from touching his bare foot against Kaiza's skin. He heard a grunt as the sand and dirt nearby was disturbed, and blood suddenly appeared on the ground, as if Kaiza had just spat.

_I'm not unconscious. Good sign,_ Naruto thought. _Okay, so it's either just his hands, or he has to know which part of his body he needs to concentrate on to force someone unconscious. Or maybe it doesn't work if the opponent willingly touches him—not testing that theory, but at least it's something I can go with. _

"You're pretty good, kid." he heard Kaiza mutter, but he ignored the compliment, concentrating on the other's location. He didn't know much about the others, but he _did_ know one of them sucked chakra. He'd encountered a shinobi like that before, and had knocked him unconscious with a little trick he'd learned from Kyuubi. Of course, he didn't _have_ the fox's chakra right now, but he figured he could improvise. He'd _have _to.

Naruto closed his eyes and brought one hand up to his forehead, listening hard. He always found it helped him concentrate when he had something to focus on. Touching his own forehead helped him focus on how close he was to everything around him, almost like sonar, except without the sound. All he needed was for Kaiza to move, and he would know where he was.

Naruto easily ducked a swing at his head, and then jumped over a swipe at his feet, his eyes still closed. To have them open would just distract him, because his eyes would be searching endlessly for something they wouldn't be able to find.

The blond did a few back handsprings to avoid more swipes and then flipped over Kaiza in the air, kicking him in the small of his back. He felt the Sound nin regain his balance and lunge at him. The blond moved his head swiftly to the side to avoid Kaiza's hand slamming right into him, the wind brushing past his cheek because he'd been so close. _Too close,_ Naruto thought, starting to panic. He had to end this. _Now_.

The ANBU Captain slapped Kaiza's hand away forcefully before stepping close to him as quickly as he could. As he stepped inside, he grabbed Kaiza's slapped arm and twisted, hard, trying to force him off-balance. The Sound nin's other hand came up, and sensing it, Naruto ducked it and twisted under the arm he held, spinning behind him and wrenching Kaiza's arm up his back before kicking out the back of his knees, smashing the brown-haired man face-first into the dirt.

With a grunt, Kaiza became visible and Naruto hurriedly grabbed his free arm to hold it steady, ensuring the other man wouldn't be able to touch him with it. The blond frowned as Kaiza began to laugh, his chuckle low and throaty.

Kaiza must have sensed his confusion, because he answered Naruto's unasked question. "You think you've won already, don't you? You think it'll move to the next person now, right? Don't think so lowly of me, brat."

Naruto's eyes widened and he hurled himself off Kaiza as he felt the other man's leg coming up. The blond turned hurriedly, sprawled on the ground in front of the Sound nin, staring at his bare foot. Kaiza had taken off his sandals and attempted to touch skin with skin.

"Good thing you've got those reflexes, kid, or this fight would've been over." He smirked as he regained his footing, beginning to fade again.

_Shit,_ Naruto thought, looking around. He had to admit, he'd thought he'd won when Kaiza had been pinned. He'd been stupid to think so, and now, he was back at square one. _Shit, shit! I really don't want to use chakra!_ Without Kyuubi, he only had a limited supply of chakra. He was already going to be risking a lot with his plan, so he couldn't afford to use any chakra now, or in the next fight, or in the next one. Not until he got to Kazuma.

Naruto flipped high in the air as more Sand dogs appeared out of the ground. Four of them. _Oh, terrific,_ Naruto thought sarcastically. _Just what I always wanted. I fucking **hate** dogs! _Naruto made a mental note to talk to Kiba if—_when!_—he got out of this. He needed some serious dog-training techniques.

Naruto jumped over the first dog, which crashed into the wall, turning back into sand and dirt. The blond then flipped over another dog, landing in a forward roll and getting quickly back to his feet, running across the arena with the last three dogs on his heels.

_Can't use chakra, can't use chakra, can't use chakra..._ The blond repeated these words over and over in his head, one syllable for each footfall as he ran. He needed his chakra.

Naruto ran straight at the wall, not slowing down, and not stopping. He ran vertically up the wall, without using chakra, and then flipped backwards behind the sand dogs. All three smashed into the wall as Naruto landed behind them, turning quickly to avoid getting hit by Kaiza. Dammit, the guy wasn't giving him a break!

_Fine,_ the blond thought annoyed. _He wants to play dirty, we'll fucking play dirty!_

Naruto's fist flew at what appeared to be empty space, but his hand connected painfully with Kaiza's nose. The Sound nin became visible for a split second, clutching his nose, and then turned invisible again. It didn't matter. That split second was all Naruto needed. He kicked Kaiza in the stomach before vaulting over him and grabbing his arms.

The ANBU Captain yanked backwards on Kaiza's arms, the Sound nin becoming visible as he screamed. The blond grunted, but didn't let go as Kaiza's scream amplified in pitch. He'd only heard about this move from Sakura, knowing Sasuke had performed it on Zaku during the Chuunin exams. Naruto kept a firm grip on Kaiza's wrists and placed one knee against the man's back, pushing against his knee and pulling back his arms.

Kaiza's scream intensified, and Naruto winced at the sound. It was like a banshee, and the blond was almost tempted to let go, just so the other man would stop. But he couldn't do that, so, he continued to pull until he heard something snap. A second later, it was followed by another snap, and Kaiza's screaming got even louder as Naruto let Kaiza's arms go, the Sound nin falling limply to the ground. He was twitching, obviously still awake, but in such intense pain he couldn't move or even scream anymore. Understandable, since Naruto had just pulled both of his arms out of their sockets.

Kabuto appeared before Naruto in a wisp of smoke, kneeling beside Kaiza. He looked up at Naruto with a smirk before grabbing Kaiza and disappearing with him. Naruto frowned, confused, unable to understand why Kabuto had smirked.

He found out a second later when he heard the air behind him whistling and just barely managed to jump to the side, avoiding Verity's whip as it crashed against the ground right where Naruto had been standing.

_Shit, am I not even going to get a **break**?.!_ the blond thought incredulously as he rolled to his feet, turning to the only female in the Sound Four. Verity was slowly retracting her whip, smirking at him as her eyes openly roved Naruto's half-naked body. After all, he was still only wearing his Jounin pants. Heck, he didn't even have any _shoes_!

"I usually never miss." Verity said to him. "Today must be your lucky day."

Naruto frowned at this. _I'd hardly call today 'lucky', _he thought to himself. _It's more like some horrible nightmare I can't wake up from._

"I'll try not to damage you too much, demon." Naruto winced at the 'demon' part, but recovered quickly. "You're kind of cute. I'd hate to change that by adding scars. Then again," she eyed Naruto up and down again, "I guess Kyuubi makes sure you don't scar. Sasuke was pretty brutal with you, yet there isn't even a mark on you. Almost as if none of it happened."

_Oh, it fucking happened, you crazy bitch,_ Naruto thought angrily, his mind returning to all the torture Sasuke had put him through. _Once I kick his ass and bring him back to Konoha, he's going to hear a nice, long speech from me._ Naruto paused in his inner musings. _Well, I guess he'll **see** a nice, long speech, since I can't talk and all—focus!_

The blond shook his head, forcing his thoughts back to the present. All this idle chitchat was making his mind wander. He just wanted to get this over with. Verity looked ready to do the same.

The purple-haired girl whipped at Naruto, and he dodged it, but his eyes widened as the whip hit the wall he'd been beside and the wall exploded into bits of broken rock. Naruto couldn't stop staring at the huge hole in the wall from the whip. He turned back to Verity and saw her smirking at the stunned look on his face. If Verity caught one of Naruto's limbs, it would be ripped to shreds.

"Oh, did I forget to mention? I added more glass." Verity smirked. Naruto turned to her and smirked as well, an action that confused the Sound nin.

_Oh, did I forget to mention? _Naruto thought. _I use whips, too. There goes holding my chakra. I'm out of options._

Naruto slapped his hands together, and as he separated them, two chakra whips emerged. He grabbed both handles and grinned at Verity's shocked expression. _And I've got two,_ he thought smugly.

Of course, he still hadn't _perfected_ his Double Whip Jutsu, but—he would have to improvise. He had to get as far as he could through the Sound Four, or else his friends were fucked—as was he. And so, he whipped both whips at Verity, effectively cutting her right upper arm and her left thigh. The Sound nin grunted as blood began to trickle from the wounds before they healed over. Verity smirked as Naruto stared incredulously.

"What, you thought you were the only one with healing powers?" Verity twirled the tip of her whip in her hands. "In this case, I'm luckier than you are. You don't heal on your own; the Kyuubi does it for you. Me, on the other hand," she smirked, "I don't need a stupid demon to make my wounds heal. It's a bloodline limit."

_Everybody has their weakness,_ Naruto thought as he whipped and hit her in the stomach—which healed over. _I just have to find yours._ He whipped at her again.

The two continued to exchange blows, Verity's wounds healing, Naruto's not. He'd only gotten hit three times, but they were enough, and he was hurting a lot now. The glass made a huge difference—it felt like skin was being ripped off instead of just being cut open. To add insult to injury, once or twice, Verity had attempted to release all the glass from her whip with the Jutsu she'd used in the desert. Naruto always managed to stop her, but he was starting to lose control of his whips. He'd only done this Jutsu a few times, and he _really_ didn't like the fact that he was using up chakra, either.

Finally, the tides began to turn as Naruto whipped at Verity again with both whips and one of them hit the blue-eyed girl in the neck. Gasping, she stumbled back, clutching at her throat where blood started to trickle down—and didn't stop. Verity retreated her fingers, staring at them worriedly as Naruto smirked. The wound was still open, and still bleeding. It looked like he'd just found her weak spot.

Before he could react—too preoccupied with his newfound discovery—Verity's whip flew at him and his head snapped to the side as the harsh leather and unforgiving glass met his cheek.

"You may have found my weakness, but at least I'm not as fragile as you." The girl smirked.

Naruto turned his face back to Verity, blood trickling down his cheek from the wound she'd inflicted. He was pissed off, now, and she was about to find out just _how_ pissed the blond could truly be.

He lashed out with his two whips again, hearing Verity cry out as he hit her on either side of her throat. She now had three injuries there. Ones that weren't closing. Vulnerable spots were so much fun.

With an enraged cry, Verity slapped her whip at Naruto and the blond just barely managed to get out of the way in time, getting away with only a shallow wound compared to the one he would've received had he not been fast enough. He winced as he looked down at the wound before looking back up at Verity.

_Great,_ he thought annoyed. _**Now** what? How the fuck am I supposed to hit just **one** spot on her entire body when she can kill me nice and easy? I hate my life._

As Verity whipped at him again, he suddenly got an idea. He retracted his whips and rolled out of the way of hers, jumping back to his feet and running around Verity in a circle. The purple-haired girl followed him, whipping at his heels as she turned in a circle.

At the last second, Naruto flipped backwards over the whip and rolled towards Verity, getting in as close as possible. Panicking at the close proximity, Verity tried to whip him again, but he rolled to the side before propelling himself forward, smashing into the girl's stomach and tackling her to the ground. Verity's whip flew from her hands and Naruto hastily turned Verity around beneath him, so she was lying on her stomach and he was sitting on her back.

The ANBU Captain slapped his hands together before separating them, pulling out a single chakra whip this time.

'You know what your weakness is besides your neck, Verity?' Naruto asked via chakra as he wrapped the whip around Verity's neck, beginning to pull both ends backwards, choking the girl beneath him. Verity let out a choked gurgle, confused at the words she was seeing before her eyes, and Naruto smiled in satisfaction.

'You rely too much on your whip and healing powers. Those of us without them actually know how to fight.'

Naruto began to yank backwards, intent on severing the girl's head from her body when the whip suddenly disappeared from his hands and he felt the air rush out of his lungs. That could only mean one thing.

Kazuma.


	9. Sound Four II

**Disclaimer- :Goes right up to K. Masashi, knocks him out, and promptly leaves with Kiba in tow:**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

**A/N: Thanks to Chonki who tried to help me make this chapter better.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
_'Naruto signing.'  
Thoughts._  
**"Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgment. And you can see forever."_

- Nancy Lopez

Orochimaru smirked down at Naruto as he sat on Verity's back, a chakra whip wrapped around her neck.

"He's going to kill her." The snake man stated calmly before raising his hand slightly. "Kazuma."

The Sound nin bowed before teleporting down to where Naruto and Verity were. He stood behind them and held his hands out before him, the air around him thinning out as he sucked away the chakra Naruto had used to make the whip. Naruto slumped forward slightly before rolling sideways off Verity and getting to his feet. Kabuto appeared for a second, grabbing Verity, and then disappeared.

The blond winced as he stared at Kazuma, who smirked at him, his hands lowered. Naruto's stomach stung from the wound there and his cheek had gone numb. Dried blood cracked as he ran the back of his hand across his cheek, and his wound began to bleed sluggishly again.

"So, blondie, you're not too bad at this." Kazuma said as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "You beat Verity and Kaiza. Then again, they're the weakest of us all."

_Great,_ Naruto thought sarcastically. _I barely manage to beat the __**weakest**__ of the Sound Four. I feel __**so**__ much better._

"Verity's gotta be the weakest. Relies on the material too much rather than the physical. You noticed that, since you got all up in her face and made her let go of her whip. Next would be Kaiza, I'd say. He's pretty good, but like Verity, he relies on his invisibility to win. He doesn't trust himself in normal combat. I'm next up in line, and you better pray you don't beat me. If you do, you have to fight him." Kazuma motioned the balcony where Orochimaru, Sasuke and Mitsuru were located. Naruto had a feeling he wasn't talking about the snake bastard or the traitor.

Mitsuru was standing with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed, his shoulder-length green hair blowing gently in the wind. _There's a breeze here?_ Naruto thought as he panted slightly. _Is it just me, or am I not feeling any cooler? _

"You ready?" Naruto looked back at Kazuma, cocking a confused eyebrow. "I didn't want to fight you all out of breath. I'd rather have you healed, too, but that's something I can't help. I wanted to go up against the full power of the Kyuubi vessel, but I guess I can deal with this pitiful excuse of a ninja."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. _Pitiful? I'll show __**you**__ fucking pitiful!_ The blond thought angrily. He was almost tempted to wave his fist at Kazuma, but knew it would look stupid. He'd decided long ago that if he couldn't yell aloud, he would do so in his head, even if it didn't have the same effect.

When he noticed Kazuma just waiting patiently, Naruto sighed and decided to get this over with using taijutsu. As much as possible, he wanted to avoid giving him time to shoot chakra back out. If he was anything like the other chakra-sucker he'd encountered, Kazuma had to disperse as much chakra as he consumed. But Naruto had a plan, and if all went well, he would win. He just had to make sure Kazuma never used any chakra.

_He thinks I'm a weakling, that shouldn't be hard,_ the blond thought annoyed.

He stood ready to fight and Kazuma smirked before holding his right arm out to the side. Naruto frowned, waiting, and then his eyes widened. Kazuma mumbled some kind of Jutsu beneath his breath and a black coating encased his hand, moving up his arm to his shoulder. There, it split, spreading down his side and up his neck. Within seconds, the man's entire body was completely encased in the black—whatever the hell it was! His eyes were hidden behind the black casing and his mouth had transformed so large, sharp teeth protruded from his mouth. Kazuma looked like a horror movie monster, and Naruto gulped audibly. If this was Kazuma _normally_, Naruto didn't want to see him activate the curse seal.

Now that he thought about it, none of the other two had activated their curse seals. He wondered why that was—for about a second, because the next thing he knew, he was being attacked.

At lightning speed, Kazuma's right foot found the left side of Naruto's head. He flew to the right and smashed, hard, into the closest wall, then fell to the ground, coughing slightly.

"You cannot defeat me." Kazuma informed him as he slowly walked up to Naruto, who was still on the ground. "This entire casing is almost like a shield. It protects me from any outside attacks, allows me to mold weapons from anywhere, and even amplifies any chakra I suck out of people ten-fold. It's the most powerful Jutsu ever created—and I'm the only one who's ever used it."

Naruto stood up unsteadily, looking at his opponent. He could see about three of him, which was definitely not a good thing. He shook his head, trying to clear it as the Sound nin started towards him. _Damn, I'm so fucking stupid! I should've just stuck to chakra!_ Naruto paused, rethinking about his original plan, and then remembering what Kazuma had said.

"_It protects me from any outside attacks, allows me to mold weapons from anywhere, and even amplifies any chakra I suck out of people ten-fold." _

That was what he'd said, right? Naruto smirked. _Looks like my plan can work after all, even __**without**__ Kyuubi. _

Kazuma appeared before Naruto and grabbed his collar before throwing the blond over his head, making him land hard on the unforgiving arena floor. He cringed as he skid on the sand, the small stones cutting into his skin slightly, but he ignored the pain.

The Sound nin lunged towards him, but he propelled himself backwards off the ground with his hands, flipping backwards a few times to gain some distance, causing Kazuma to chase after him. Once he was sure the other was getting frustrated—and thus off-guard—Naruto's feet hit the ground and he pushed off, slamming his shoulder into the other's gut. Kazuma staggered and Naruto didn't waste any time, slamming the back of his right fist into the other's cheekbone, following inertia with the action to spin and then hitting the man again with his left. Again, Kazuma staggered, but he didn't fall, it took him mere seconds to regain his balance, Naruto taking a few steps back while the other was disoriented. _Shit, it's like trying to kick the shit out of a brick wall! _the blond thought with a grimace.

While Naruto thought over his next move, Kazuma propelled himself forward to attack, his fists slamming in rapid succession against every vulnerable part of the blond's body—most especially his wounded stomach. Naruto tried to block all the ones he could, but tiredness and injuries were slowing him down, and Kazuma landed more blows on him than he should have.

When he finally finished with that attack, he brought one knee up to kick Naruto in the ribs, who moved both hands down to block it, only to find out it had been a bluff and receive a smashing blow to the head. The blond fell to the ground, hard, and stayed down, silently groaning. He opened his mouth and spat out onto the ground, blood mixed in with his saliva. Fuck, even if he managed to beat this guy, he still had one more to go, and he was apparently the strongest.

"You're _weak_, demon." Kazuma smirked.

With a grunt, Naruto grit his teeth, and then propelled himself forward into Kazuma's chest, sending them both crashing to the ground. They rolled around in the dirt for a few seconds, Naruto trying to get the upper hand, but the other was too fast for him. Just when the blond thought his luck was changing, the Sound nin brought the heel of his hand up, slamming it into Naruto's nose. His head snapped back, pain exploding up the center of his face, and he rolled himself off the other. Doing a kick-up off the ground, he breathed hard, trying to establish if there was any lasting damage to his nose while Kazuma stood up just as easily.

The ANBU Captain took the initiative, racing towards the Sound nin and delivering a roundhouse kick to the temple, then shifting into a slight crouch to slam his fist into the other's kidney.

After falling to the ground in stunned pain, Kazuma recovered more rapidly than Naruto had anticipated, and he tripped the blond, sending him crashing back to the ground. The Kyuubi vessel felt all the air rush out of his lungs, but didn't have time to dwell on it. He quickly rolled to the side when Kazuma leapt, intent on smashing the blond's face under his feet. Rolling away as rapidly as he could manage, he twisted his hips on one of the rolls and wound back up in a standing position. Then, he flipped over Kazuma, who'd still been coming at him, and kicked him in the back, staggering away from the powerful man and turning to face him once more.

Since Kazuma still hadn't recovered his balance, Naruto grit his teeth and launched himself at him once more, just as Kazuma turned. Not giving him time to react, he slammed his fist into the other's gut, the grey-haired man staggering backwards and clutching at his stomach. Kazuma gave Naruto a confused look, as if wondering how the blond was managing to injure him. The thing was, Naruto had a secret. He was infusing chakra into his blows, forcing Kazuma to absorb it without his knowledge. If what he said about the chakra increasing ten-fold was true...

Naruto flew at him, sending Kazuma flying onto his back, straddling his chest. He slammed both hands on either side of Kazuma's head and began to force all the chakra he could out of his hands and into the Sound nin. The problem with Kazuma, just like with the previous leecher Naruto had faced, was that they sucked and sucked and sucked. But if they didn't expel, they would explode, just like a _real_ leech. Keep feeding it blood without it able to stop, and it'll just blow up. The same could be said with chakra-suckers.

The blond was sure he'd won and everything would be over now, but he'd forgotten one little detail—there was one Sound Four left. The Kyuubi vessel went flying off Kazuma just as the Sound nin fell unconscious. He slammed into one of the walls and opened his mouth to cry out,—no sound coming out, of course—his ribs protesting loudly. A few of them were _definitely_ broken.

As Naruto sank to the ground, one arm wrapped around his middle, he looked up to see Mitsuru staring at him dispassionately—much like Sasuke and Itachi did—with Kabuto behind him, looking over Kazuma. The next second, Kabuto and the Sound nin Naruto had just defeated were gone. _Three down, one to go. Whoopie, _Naruto thought sarcastically.

"I shall give you five minutes to regain your breath and try to silence your protesting wounds." Naruto's eyebrows shot into his hairline as Mitsuru spoke these words to him. "While we wait, I shall tell you about what I can do. Call it a handicap, on my part." Oh, Naruto wanted to wipe that arrogant smirk that had suddenly formed right off the bastard's face. "I have a bloodline limit which serves me well." Mitsuru began to pace back and forth in front of Naruto, who was still sitting on the ground. "You see, my bloodline limit is rare. Oh, it's not as wonderful as Sasuke's Sharingan or the deceased Kimimaro's ability to extract his own bones, but it _is_ something Orochimaru considered taking over _my_ body for."

He bent down in front of Naruto, brushing the blond's bangs out of his eyes. Naruto leaned back hard against the wall, wanting to melt through it. Why was this guy _touching_ him?

Mitsuru then stood up, backing away. "Would you like to see my bloodline limit?" He smirked, and then opened his hand. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw a swirling ball of chakra in the man's hand. Rasengan! "I can absorb any Jutsu from anyone. All I need is to touch them. One Jutsu per touch, but I usually root around for the most powerful one."

Naruto could only find one word to describe this situation:

_**FUCK!**_

* * *

Mitsuru watched as panic flickered through Naruto's blue eyes, and he waited for the blond to stand. When he didn't, the green-haired man sighed.

"I've told you everything about myself. Shall we start?" He pulled off his shirt, throwing it aside before cracking his neck, still regarding Naruto. "You know my limit. I can assume yours. Of course, my assumptions may be impaired due to your injuries." He couldn't help a smirk from appearing on his lips. "How many ribs with Kazuma break? Two?"

'_Four, but who's counting?'_ Naruto signed to him before returning his hand to his ribs. Mitsuru laughed aloud at this.

"You've got spunk, kid, I'll give you that. Come on, on your feet." Naruto grimaced, but obeyed, standing slowly before dropping his hand from his ribs. He'd have to be ready for this, and he knew that Mitsuru would strike for his ribs the first chance he got. He wasn't going to give him that chance.

"Ready?" Mitsuru asked as he began walking in a large circle. Naruto replied by circling as well, the two of them across from each other, circling each other.

Without warning, Naruto lunged at Mitsuru to hit him first, attempting to punch him in the face. The Sound nin blocked the hit, swinging the blond's arm sidewards. Naruto attempted to knee him in the stomach, but he blocked the blow with his shin. Mitsuru backhanded Naruto across the face and Naruto echoed the action, doing the same to Mitsuru.

Mitsuru raised his leg in a swivel-kick, but Naruto blocked it with both hands before releasing his foot with one hand, and punching him in the stomach. The Sound nin attempted to punch the blond in the face, much like Naruto had done to him, but he countered it the same way Mitsuru had, still holding the green-haired man's one leg in his hand.

He finally let it go and used the older man's imbalance to kick him in the stomach before doing a back-flip and landing on his feet a little ways away from Mitsuru. The Sound nin began to fall backwards from the blow to his stomach, but countered it beautifully by falling into a back hand-spring and getting smoothly to his feet by arching his back.

He spun and kicked Naruto in the face, sending him flying to the side, but the blond lessened the blow by falling into a cartwheel before back-flipping over a low kick Mitsuru attempted to trip him with.

The two of them were face to face again, staring at one another. Naruto shifted slightly to the side and attempted to kick Mitsuru in the face, but he blocked the kick and pushed the blond's foot away from himself, hard. Naruto's foot on the ground spun due to the impact of the push against his raised leg, making him do a complete three-sixty spin, and the still upraised leg kicked Mitsuru in the back of the head, Mitsuru clearly not expecting this.

The Sound nin flew forward, tucking hurriedly and rolling on the ground before getting fluidly back to his feet. He turned to Naruto angrily to be met with a fist. Mitsuru grabbed Naruto's wrist as he dodged the blow, pulling the blond's arm sharply. The ANBU Captain flew off his feet, Mitsuru spinning him while holding his wrist.

Naruto's arm shrieked in protest as his socket began to dislocate, but the Sound nin let him go before it had the chance to do so. Naruto flew through the air, landing swiftly on his feet and rolling sideways before getting back into a standing position. He turned to Mitsuru angrily, pushing his shoulder back with his opposite hand to make sure it didn't dislocate later in the fight.

A sickening 'crack' was heard as the slightly dislocated shoulder popped back into place and Naruto let out a sharp breath, gritting his teeth against the pain.

Mitsuru smirked at his pain before holding up his arm. His entire left arm began to shift with chakra, forming a large spike-like beam of chakra. He forced the spike to disconnect from his body and it shot at Naruto. The blond performed a seal as quickly as he could, his entire left fist encased in stone. Aiming his fist at the approaching spike, the stone broke apart and miniature stone bullets shot towards it, dispersing the chakra and making it disappear altogether.

Naruto repeated the seal, this time sending the rock bullets at Mitsuru. He countered it by performing a seal and raising the earth around him to form a wall of sand in front of him. Naruto had to admit, he didn't know anyone other than Gaara could do that.

The green-haired man dispersed the sand, the wind causing it to fly around everywhere, momentarily obscuring their views of one another. During this time, Mitsuru held his hand out, chakra collecting in his palm in the Jutsu he'd just stolen from Naruto. Rasengan.

He lunged at the blond, and as he neared him, Naruto noticed what was in the other's hand and he began to do back hand-springs to avoid it. Mitsuru continued running at him, trying to keep him within range so he could slam the chakra into Naruto's chest.

Naruto did a final back-flip, landing on a part particularly rich in sand before kicking it into Mitsuru's face. Temporarily blinded, Mitsuru lost his concentration on the Rasengan in his hand and barely avoided a kick from the blond, sending Naruto sailing over him.

The blond did a roll on the ground before coming back to his feet, turning to face Mitsuru.

"You are one stubborn asshole." Mitsuru bit out angrily.

He lunged at Naruto the same moment Naruto lunged at him, both of them going to punch one another. Their fists collided together, sending them both flying backwards due to the force—also breaking every bone in both of their right hands.

Mitsuru skid along the ground, bringing up dirt behind him as he attempted to stop, while Naruto flipped twice in the air, landing on the ground, causing it to crumble under the force of his landing, creating a huge crater where he now stood.

Growling, Mitsuru performed a new seal and both of his fists were encased in fire. _This is new,_ Naruto thought worriedly as he slapped his hands together and began to create the chakra whips. He only had a little bit of chakra left, not enough to keep this battle going for a long time. He'd have to end it, and end it now. His ribs were protesting horribly, his wounds were throbbing and still bleeding, and his chakra reserve was on five percent. Yeah, it was time to end it.

The two men finished their Jutsus at the same time so that when Mitsuru threw his first fireball at Naruto, he slapped it away with one of his chakra whips. Mitsuru continued to throw the fire at him, going faster and faster, trying to catch Naruto off-guard, but he caught every fireball with his whips, disintegrating them.

After a few minutes of this, Naruto took the opportunity to dodge a fireball and crack both whips at Mitsuru, wrapping them around his body. He yanked on them hard, sending Mitsuru flying towards him. He then let go of the whips as Mitsuru continued towards him and did a handstand, kicking the Sound nin twice in the face as he raised one leg, then the other, arching his back into a hand-spring to get back on his feet. He turned to look at Mitsuru and saw the man lying on the ground, unconscious.

Naruto sank to his knees, breathing hard and clutching his injured ribs painfully. He looked up in time to see Kabuto appear and then disappear with Mitsuru.

"Good job, little boy." Naruto turned his head and saw Verity, Kazuma and Kaiza standing a little ways away. Orochimaru and Sasuke were behind them, Orochimaru walking forward, clapping slowly.

"Bravo." Orochimaru grinned as he clapped, Naruto heaving, covered in blood, and sweating like never before. "I'm impressed, Naruto-kun. I have to admit, I didn't think you'd be able to defeat them all. But, they're all healed now and ready for another round. Let's see how you fare with them in Stage One."

Naruto's eyes widened.

* * *

Sasuke walked down the corridor that led to Kabuto's lab and opened the door without bothering to knock. Kabuto turned from where he stood at the sink, washing instruments and smirking at Sasuke.

"They beat him up pretty well." The white-haired medic nin said to Sasuke. "Kyuubi couldn't even heal everything without risking injuring his host further. I had to do a lot of old-fashioned, non-chakra heals. It was interesting."

"Where is he?" Sasuke demanded, noting the blond boy wasn't there.

Kabuto smirked at this. "Didn't you know? He was called for by Orochimaru-sama." Sasuke's eyes widened, but he didn't let his face betray anything. "I'm sure you'll be able to hear them if you stand at the end of the corridor. Or—Orochimaru-sama, anyway. Blond demon brat lost his voice, didn't he? Never knew silence could be so—wonderful."

Sasuke grit his teeth and left the room, slamming the door loudly. The one thing Sasuke missed the most about Naruto was his voice, and there Kabuto was, _glad_ the blond had lost it. In his anger to get away from Kabuto before pounding his face into the ground, he didn't even notice he'd reached the second floor. He stopped just short of heading in the direction of his room, which was beside Orochimaru's.

The ex-Konoha nin stood in the adjacent hall, remembering all the times this had happened to him. The first times had been the worst, he hadn't been used to it. _But at least I could voice my pain,_ Sasuke's brain supplied pitifully. _At least I could scream for him to stop, and have some satisfaction knowing he was listening, even if he didn't stop. But Naruto—he can't do that anymore._

The raven hastily wiped at his eyes as he felt tears beginning to form, ashamed of himself for wanting to cry. No, he wouldn't _fucking_ cry! He turned on his heel, intent on getting as far away from the rooms as possible. _The dungeons. They're the furthest place from here, _Sasuke decided, turning a corner and climbing back down the stairs.

He continued towards the dungeon in silence, wishing more than anything that he could talk to someone. As he passed the doors, he glanced at the names written on them, indicating which prisoners were where. He recognized a few of them: Shikamaru, Neji, Sai, Sakura and Naruto... He paused at another door he hadn't gotten to yet. One near the end of the corridor, and just stared at the name.

Even though he was a traitor, he needed to talk to someone, and this person was the only one he could think of other than Naruto. Pressing his ear against the door, Sasuke listened to see if anyone was inside. When he heard nothing, he opened the door and stepped into the room, closing it behind himself.

"I was wondering when you'd come for your turn." Sasuke winced as he heard the voice. It was gravely, and hoarse from screaming.

"I didn't come for a turn." Sasuke whispered, walking beside the person lying on the table in the centre of the room and wincing as he saw his wounds. They weren't as bad as Naruto's had been when Sasuke had been having fun, but the Uchiha had been so blind with rage he hadn't even noticed how much damage he was inflicting.

"Then why _are_ you here?" Sasuke ignored the question, walking across the room and grabbing a set of bandages. He wasn't experienced enough to heal the wounds before him, and even if he was, he wouldn't be able to, because then they would know someone was helping the Konoha shinobi, and the first person they would suspect would be Sasuke.

"Why are you here, Sasuke?" The question was asked again.

"Because I needed to talk to someone." Sasuke whispered, collecting the bandages. "I had to get away from the pain I know Naruto is going through right now. The only person I can talk to—is you, Kakashi-sensei."

"You still call me sensei?" He heard the older man snort.

"Old habits die hard." Sasuke replied as he walked up to Kakashi, placing the bandages down. "What did they do?"

"Well, the guy with the brown hair thought it would be funny to take out strips of my skin from my abdomen. Kind of like trying to skin me alive, only literally."

"Sounds like something Kaiza would do." Sasuke muttered as he gently wiped around the gaping wounds in Kakashi's stomach. The older man's left eye was also swollen shut, probably beaten to that point so that he wouldn't be able to use the Sharingan on anyone.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke's hand froze. "You said you knew the pain he was going through right now, so what exactly is happening to him?"

Sasuke clenched his jaw and continued working on cleaning the blood off Kakashi. "He's with Orochimaru-sama."

The raven said nothing else, and Kakashi asked nothing else. Sasuke obviously didn't want to talk about it, he just needed someone to be there if he felt like voicing how he felt. Kakashi knew Sasuke well enough to not hold his breath, but who knew? He'd been in Sound for almost six years. Maybe he'd changed?

Doubtful.


	10. Traitor

**Disclaimer: All right, guys. I'm planning on stealing Kiba from K. Masashi. Anyone who wants to steal a Naruto character, JOIN FORCES WITH ME!**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_Two voices are there; one is of the sea,  
__One of the mountains: each a mighty  
__Voice."  
_- William Wordsworth

Sasuke exited the room Kakashi was in an hour later, having—not talked, really, but just chitchatted. They hadn't really talked about anything important, just about small stuff like who had changed status in Konoha and what Sasuke had been doing for the past few years.

The raven's mind kept wandering back to Naruto, no matter how hard he tried not to think about the blond dobe. He couldn't help it. He understood how much Naruto would be hurting after this was over—in more ways than one.

Screaming echoed down the corridor and Sasuke looked up to see Sakura struggling against three Sound nins. They were pulling her out of the room she and Naruto had been in together, another door open further down the hall, in Sasuke's direction. She was switching cells.

"Naruto!" Sakura shrieked as she fought harder. "Naruto! _Please_, don't give up! Let me go! Fuck! Naruto!"

Sasuke's heart wrenched in his chest as he watched Sakura, and he resisted the urge to clutch it. He was almost scared to go see Naruto, but he knew he had to. So, taking a deep breath, he headed towards Sakura, who was still yelling.

"Naruto! Na—_you_!" Sakura finally noticed Sasuke, her eyes oozing hatred and anger as she fought harder against the shinobi holding her. She still had manacles on that restrained her chakra. "What the fuck did you do to him?.! What did you do?.!"

Sasuke said nothing. He just brushed past her, despite how hard she tried to claw at him, demanding to know what he'd done. Sasuke's thoughts were running along the same lines. What _had_ he done? 'He' being Orochimaru. Sasuke had a suspicion of how Naruto was—he just hoped he was wrong.

The raven walked into the dungeon room, and went right up to Naruto, punching him across the face. The blond didn't react. He didn't flinch, he didn't glare; he did nothing. Sasuke searched the blue eyes before him fearfully, wanting his suspicions that had caused him to punch the blond to be wrong. He'd wanted a reaction to know Naruto was still in there. He was met with blank, dull blue eyes.

"Fuck." Sasuke whispered, feeling his heart clench even more. "Fuck!" he hollered as he punched Naruto again. "God _dammit_, dobe! Wake up!" He didn't stop punching him. Every time he did, Naruto didn't move. He just hung there, letting Sasuke punch him, not showing any signs of life.

Sasuke's hand began to bleed, Naruto's cheekbone was broken, but he couldn't stop hitting him. He needed a reaction. He couldn't let the one who'd kept him going for all these years become an empty shell.

Tears began to flow down Sasuke's face. Whether they were tears of anger or tears of pain, he didn't know. All he knew was that he wouldn't stop until Naruto reacted.

Sasuke pulled his fist back to punch Naruto again but his wrist was caught in a firm grip and he spun around hastily to kill the person holding his wrist with the daggers emitting from his eyes. Mitsuru stared at him with something one could almost call pity in his eyes. He didn't release Sasuke's wrist as the Uchiha panted, glaring acid and daggers at Mitsuru.

"This isn't helping." Mitsuru stated simply before releasing Sasuke's wrist.

Sasuke shoved him roughly. "Fuck you!" He pushed past the Sound nin and slammed through the door, the sound reverberating through the dungeon. Mitsuru stared at the closed door before turning to Naruto. The blond didn't even look at him. Mitsuru held his chin in two fingers and turned his head slightly to look at the damage Sasuke had inflicted on his cheek. With a sigh, the green-haired man held up his hand, forcing chakra into it. He gently placed his hand against Naruto's cheek, forcing his healing chakra into the blond. The wound began to heal, but Mitsuru knew he couldn't heal it completely. It would be suspicious. He settled with healing the broken cheekbone before pulling his hand away, staring at the large bruise and cuts on his face.

He shifted to look into Naruto's eyes and winced. This was looking bad. At this rate, Naruto wouldn't be the same once he got out. He'd been completely destroyed by Orochimaru.

"Fuck, I thought you said nothing would be able to break his spirit." Mitsuru whispered to himself, knowing full well the person he was addressing wouldn't be able to hear him. "You better hurry, Kazekage-sama. He won't survive another day of this."

With those final words, the Sand spy exited the room, closing the door behind himself, completely missing the glint that re-entered the blond's eyes.

* * *

"Stupid demon fox." Kazuma grumbled irritably as he walked down the stairs to the dungeons. "Why do _I_ have to feed the fucker? Can't we just let him rot and die?" 

He knew very well no one was listening to him talk, and if anyone heard him they would think he was crazy, but he couldn't help it. Why did _he_, one of the great Sound Four, have to feed a lowlife like _Naruto_?

_Because Orochimaru-sama wants him alive,_ he thought with a sigh. He knew if he let the kid die because he hadn't been fed during his shift, he would be in deep shit. But, dammit, he hated the fucker!

Naruto hadn't even had Kyuubi's chakra, he was given no breaks, he was badly injured, and he _still_ managed to beat everyone but Mitsuru in complete cursed seal stage. He'd struggled through them in first stage, and then almost lost a few times in second stage, but something had happened somewhere in between Mitsuru in second stage, and Kaiza in complete cursed seal stage. He'd regained power, or energy, or strength or something, because he'd been on fire all the way to Mitsuru, and even _then_ one couldn't say he'd truly lost. Mitsuru had knocked him out, but the green-haired man had fallen unconscious a mere second later himself. So really—who _had_ won?

Naruto. The kid had honestly won, even though Mitsuru insisted he had. Honestly, the boy was covered in blood and had tons of broken bones by the time Kabuto took the restricting ring off from around his neck, and he'd _still_ managed to beat all the Sound Four. They'd all gotten breaks and been healed in between their battles. Naruto was truly something else.

And that was what Kazuma hated about him. The blond was so fucking _special_. No, he hated the kid. And now, he had to fucking feed him.

"Whatever, his spirit is completely torn to shreds. He'll probably starve himself to death." Kazuma said to himself as he opened the door to Naruto's cell.

He entered and saw Naruto hanging limply from his chains, just as he had been when Kazuma had seen him the day before right before the pink-haired bitch had been escorted out. Oh yeah, this kid was gone. His mind was somewhere else completely.

"Hey, demon. Dinner." Kazuma spat as he closed the door before heading for Naruto. He stepped closer and closer, and right when he was in Naruto's immediate space, his eyes widened when blue eyes locked with his, a spark very much still present in his eyes.

That was when Kazuma realized his mistake.

Naruto was fast, pulling up hard with his arms so his legs could rise in the air, wrapping them around the Sound nin's neck. The food in Kazuma's hands dropped as he reached up to grab Naruto's legs. The blond wouldn't let him use any kind of Jutsu so, jerking his hips sideways, he broke Kazuma's neck with a satisfying 'crack'.

The shinobi went limp, sagging and causing Naruto to struggle to keep the older man standing. If he dropped Kazuma, his plan would fail. He _had_ to keep the dead fucker on his feet.

Grunting, Naruto shifted, still keeping the man standing. His arms were shaking with the effort to keep not only his own weight up, but someone else's, too. He wouldn't drop Kazuma, though. He _had_ to keep him standing.

Once Naruto was confident with his position, the blond quickly let one leg go, bringing it to the front of Kazuma's body and hooking the end of his foot under the vest the other man wore.

Now, Kazuma was slumped backwards, his knees bent, the only thing keeping him relatively standing being Naruto's foot beneath his vest. The blond knew he wouldn't be able to hold this position for long so, breathing hard, he brought his other foot around and struggled to grab the keys dangling from Kazuma's pants. It took him a few tries, but he finally managed to grab them, looping the key-king around his big toe and pulling back.

Once he was satisfied that the keys were in his grasp and not connected to Kazuma anymore, he let the nin drop and let out a few deep breaths, his legs still in the air to ensure he didn't accidentally drop the keys.

_Slow, deep breaths, Naruto, _he instructed himself. _No one else should be coming down here for a while, so take your time. Just calm down and take your time._

The blond repeated these words in his head as his arms continued to shake from the strain. Slowly, he rose his left leg higher, bending his neck down towards his foot. All he had to do was get the keys close enough to his mouth so he could grab them. A feat which, in and of itself, was impossible to Naruto. The blond wasn't very flexible.

It took him nearly five minutes to finally grab the troublesome keys in his mouth, and when he did, he let his legs drop and hung by his wrists for a while, panting hard. That had been much easier when he'd envisioned doing it in his head.

_Okay, break time's over. Let's go,_ the blond urged himself before he grabbed the chains again and hauled himself up. Once his mouth was level with his hands, he took the keys with his right hand, now only holding himself up with his left.

He undid the lock as quickly as he could, knowing his left arm was going to fall off if he didn't hurry, and then fell in a heap on the floor when he got the lock open. He clutched his left shoulder as he sat up, wincing at the pain that made itself known all over his body. He still hadn't completely healed from Sasuke's torture, _or_ the beating he'd gotten from the Sound Four.

As he stood, he debated whether or not to let Kyuubi out, but he knew the fox was weak from having to heal so many wounds. That, and having his chakra suppressed always made the fox feel groggy and unfocused. Naruto couldn't risk it, not when he'd come this far already.

Grabbing the keys from the lock—there were more than one, so they could be useful later—Naruto rushed to the door and opened it silently, peeking left and right down the corridor. He saw no one, and couldn't hear anything. There were no chakra signatures around, either, so he assumed he was safe—for a while, at least. Inching out of the room, Naruto headed for the door beside his and opened it silently.

Neji looked up from his position, chained to the wall. His arms were straight out on either side of him, held against the wall by cuffs all the way down his arms. His legs were cuffed together and then held against the wall by a final cuff at the ankles. All he needed was a painted cross behind him for people to think he was being crucified.

"Naruto?" the Hyuuga croaked, his voice hoarse from screaming.

The blond's finger flew to his own lips, motioning for Neji to be quiet as he entered the room, closing the door behind himself. He rushed to Neji's side and examined the manacles holding him in place.

"Naruto, get out of here." Neji croaked out. "Get away from here."

The blond just shook his head, still examining the manacles. He wasn't leaving anyone behind. If he escaped, even if it was to get reinforcements, everyone could be killed before he got back. No, they were _all_ leaving, or they weren't leaving at all.

Naruto tried a few of the keys on the key-ring he held, but none of them worked. He cursed colourfully in his head as he looked around. Obviously, the doors were unlocked, but it seemed that the shinobi each had their own individual key-rings. That, or Neji just had too many keys and had his own key-ring.

Either way, it looked like Naruto was going to have to go find Neji's keys.

He turned to the Hyuuga, signing to him quickly. _'I'm going to go find your keys. Just hang tight, I'll be back before you know it.'_

"Naruto, just get out of here!" Neji insisted. "Escape! They want you, so get out!"

The blond's eyes narrowed. _'Bastard! I never leave my team behind! I'll be right fucking back, and you damn well better not fight me on this one!'_

Neji stared into the blue eyes before him, and he saw only one thing: determination. Naruto wasn't going to back down. The pale-eyed boy laughed slightly, shaking his head.

"Still as stubborn as always, Naruto-taishou." The blond smiled. "I'll be waiting. Hurry up."

Those words warmed Naruto's heart like nothing else. Nodding, he turned and exited the room silently, running down the corridor to the end, where a large box stood. Before going for it, he poked his head out and looked left and right down the corridor, since the box was against the far wall of a perpendicular corridor. When he saw no one coming, he went to the box and pulled it open, scanning everything inside.

Mostly medical supplies, a few scrolls, some exploding tags—keys! Naruto grabbed the entire bag of keys he found in the box before closing it again and turning to rush back down the corridor. He hit something solid and bounced back, falling onto the box and staring up at what he'd hit.

Mitsuru stared back at him with cold, hazel eyes.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat as he regarded the Sound nin. One part of his brain was telling him he was a good guy, but the other part was insisting it might all have been a trick. Naruto _seriously_ hoped it wasn't a trick.

Mitsuru raised his hands and Naruto winced, anticipating either the blow or Jutsu, but confusion replaced fear when he saw Mitsuru's hands flying in a way Naruto recognized. _Holy shit, this guy is signing to me so no one will hear us,_ Naruto thought, amazed.

And sign Mitsuru did.

'_If you want to set them free faster, I suggest you get the least injured free first, and then split keys up between all of you to set the others free. I would recommend Shinji, Takako, Takeshi and Tenten. They are the least injured. Kakashi, Neji and Sai are probably the worst injured, with Shikamaru and Genma not far behind. Kakashi will need the most help, though. Domike appears to be fine, probably the least injured of all of you since she's new, therefore no amount of torture will extract information from her.'_ Mitsuru signed hurriedly as he moved back for Naruto to enter the corridor again, keeping him out of other people's sights. _'I will try and ensure no one descends for as long as possible, but I must keep my own cover, so please be quick.'_

'_Wait, what about Sakura-chan?'_ Naruto inquired.

Mitsuru gave him a pained look and Naruto's heart fell into his stomach. _'She is with Orochimaru.' (1)_

Naruto's temper flared at this as he thought of _that_ disgusting snake bastard doing the same thing to Sakura that he'd done to Naruto. The blond ANBU Captain was going to ensure Orochimaru _never_ hurt _anyone_ in that fashion again!

'_Please hurry.'_ Mitsuru signed before disappearing down the perpendicular corridor. Naruto had no time to waste.

He quickly made his way down the corridor, noticing now that names were written on each door. He found Domike's first and she practically squealed with happiness as she saw him. The blond considered gagging her, but he had no time. He quickly set her free after running through the keys and then threw her keys and his own aside, so as not to confuse them with the others.

Naruto pulled out a key-ring that could only be Neji's, due to the magnitude of keys on it. He held it out to Domike, signing to her to get Neji free as quickly—and _silently_—as possible while he went to free Shinji.

After about ten minutes, everyone was free and the uninjured were helping the badly injured down the corridor, all of them moving silently. Naruto ripped the bottom of his pants and then rolled the material up before placing it in Kakashi's mouth, the latter giving him a grateful smile. Naruto had noticed him biting his lip against the pain of walking so as not to make a sound, and figured it would be less painful to bite something _else_.

"What now?" Tenten whispered as she held one of Neji's arms across her shoulders, her other arm around the ANBU's waist.

'_You get out of here. I have to find Sakura-chan.'_

Tenten opened her mouth to protest when they heard someone down the corridor. All of them turned to it, frightened, and Naruto let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding when he saw Mitsuru. He motioned for them to be quiet and then beckoned them over. Everyone was hesitant until Naruto pushed past them and hurriedly made his way to the other man.

He led them all down the perpendicular corridor to the end, where he whispered a Jutsu while doing a seal, and then pressed his hand against the wall. The stone turned to sand, everyone seeing a secret tunnel leading out.

Naruto and Mitsuru helped everyone get into the tunnel, the last one going through being Kakashi, helped by Shinji and Takeshi. He took the material from his mouth when he noticed Naruto not following.

"Where are you going?"

'_To get Sakura-chan. I'm not leaving her behind, so don't even suggest it, Kakashi-sensei.'_

The silver-haired man regarded his former student worriedly, but he could see the determination in the blond's eyes. He wasn't leaving without Sakura, and no one was going to convince him otherwise.

"Be careful." he finally said before returning the material to his mouth and allowing Takeshi and Shinji to lead him down the tunnel.

Naruto stood as Mitsuru covered the hole in the wall, also standing. He signed quickly to Naruto, saying he couldn't help him any more than he already had, or else his cover would be blown. Naruto understood and thanked him for his help, the other man turning to sand and disappearing.

And so, Naruto was alone, off to face Orochimaru to save Sakura. He only hoped he didn't run into too many people.

_Why do I have the feeling I'm not going to get out of this alive?_

* * *

Sasuke sat in his room on his bed, his hands clenched together and in front of his mouth with his elbows resting on his knees. He was staring across the room at the far wall, not actually even looking at it. 

His mind kept returning to the dead blue eyes of his best friend, no matter how hard he tried to make them disappear from his mind. It was something he'd never thought he'd ever see. This was _Naruto_! Even after everything Sasuke had done to him, he'd still...

Sasuke sighed as he lowered his head, resting his clenched hands against his forehead now. He still couldn't believe everything he'd done to Naruto. Naruto was his _best friend_, whether Sasuke wanted to consciously admit it or not. And he'd _tortured_ him. Threatened to burn out his eyes. And for what? Because he wanted to hear the blond dobe scream out in pain; to prove he was still stronger than Naruto.

Fuck, what was wrong with him? When had he become—

_Itachi._

His head snapped up at this thought. It was true. When _had_ he become Itachi? Because what Sasuke had done to Naruto was exactly what Itachi had done to the Uchiha clan. He'd wanted to prove he was stronger, same as Sasuke did.

The raven felt sick to his stomach. His lunch was actually turning over and coming up his throat. This small sensation caused him to lose focus and he heard a shriek of pain. Hastily, he slammed his hand against the wall and surged chakra into it, causing the room to return to being soundproof.

If he'd known Orochimaru had sent for Sakura, he would've made sure he wasn't in his room. He'd found out too late, and so his only option had been to soundproof the room. Even that wasn't enough for him, though, because he still knew what was going on next door.

Sasuke hated himself for not standing up to Orochimaru. It was obvious Konoha still meant something to him. That his teammates still meant something to him. How could he just _sit_ there, knowing what was going on next door, and do nothing to stop it?

_Do I want to look into dead green eyes, too?_ The thought was so unexpected that Sasuke's eyes widened. _I watched my best friend turn into a lifeless doll. Can I really let the same thing happen to one of my other friends?_

Sasuke clenched his fists together even tighter, gritting his teeth. What could he do? Orochimaru was ten times stronger than him. He had guards, the Sound Four, _power_! He was _immortal_, for crying out loud! Honestly, what the fuck could Sasuke _do_?.! Going up against someone like that was just unthinkable!

_He taught you everything you know, you can't betray him._

Sasuke groaned as he buried his face in his hands. He hated it when his mind went against itself. One side of his brain was telling him to save Sakura, but the other side was telling him to respect Orochimaru. The snake bastard may have gone back on his word more than once, but he'd also made Sasuke strong enough to face Itachi. Now, all Sasuke had to do was find his brother, and he would win.

_You have two choices, Sasuke. One, stay here and let whatever is happening next door just slip out of your mind, or two, go and stop it, help the others escape, and go back to Konoha._

The raven lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling as he thought the two choices over in his head. Finally, he came to a decision. He'd abandoned everyone in the village for Orochimaru. If he returned, he would have nothing. He would be labelled as a traitor for the rest of his life.

And so, strengthening the Jutsu on his walls, Sasuke closed his eyes to sleep, ignoring what he knew was happening in the other room.

This was where he belonged. He had made his choice five and a half years ago.

He was a traitor.

And he would die as one.

* * *

(1) Yes, I see Orochimaru as a man who will fuck anything that walks.

* * *

**A/N: So, Mitsuru... How many people saw that coming? Huh? Huuuuuh? Cause even _I_ didn't see it coming at first! I changed my mind while I was writing a while back and was like "Dude! He could _totally_ be a Sand spy!" Like when Mitsuru was talking about torturing Naruto before Orochimaru had him—can you say buying time for Sand to get there? I think so. And notice how he and Kakashi were just kind of dancing around each other when they were fighting? Coincidence? I think not! And honestly, who gives a handicap? Why would he tell Naruto about his bloodline limit? To help him out! BUYA :P Sorry, got overexcited. **


	11. Naruto

**Disclaimer: Kiba tried to run away again... K. Masashi caught him... again... I swear, it's like I'll NEVER get him!**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_The human voice is the organ of the soul."  
_- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Naruto pressed his back against the cold, stone wall and peered around the corner. He saw no one and cautiously made his way down the corridor. He hissed as his foot bit into a sharp stone on the ground, cursing for the fifth time the fact that he had no shoes.

He was cold, because all he had on was his Jounin pants, and he kept cutting his feet on rocks. No, this was definitely not Naruto's favourite day... week... however long he'd been in there. The cold and rocks were just the cherry on top of his big, fat, sundae of pain for the duration of his stay at Orochimaru's. Now he had to wonder, though—since this was the cherry, there was nothing left to add to the sundae. Did that mean death was the only step left to go? Someone was going to end up eating that sundae, and once the last drop was gone—Naruto was pretty sure he'd disappear right along with it.

_Great, _the blond thought with a sigh as he pressed his back up against another wall. _Now I'm making metaphors and comparing myself to a sundae. Either I'm **that** hungry, or I'm crazy._

Naruto prayed it wasn't the latter as he peeked around the corner. He retreated quickly when he noticed Kabuto walking slowly in his direction. _Shit, I need to hide,_ Naruto thought as he looked around.

He couldn't use chakra, because it would expose him, but he didn't want to knock people out, either, since it would draw attention to the fact that someone was inside their base. He didn't want to randomly open a door and go inside, because for all he knew, the rooms were full of Sound nins. The only rooms he had any information on were Sasuke's, Orochimaru's, and the dungeons. The information they'd gotten before their mission hadn't even included the new Sound Four, for crying out loud! So opening doors: not an option.

Instead, the blond planted one foot firmly against the wall and pushed off, doing the same on the opposite wall once he hit it until he was close to the ceiling. He then extended his arms and braced himself on the ceiling, his hands and feet resting against the walls opposite each other and holding his body flat against the ceiling.

He held his breath, hoping Kabuto wouldn't look up and see him. The white-haired nin walked beneath Naruto, and just when the blond thought he was home free, Kabuto stopped right beneath him, frowning at the papers he was looking over.

Naruto's lungs threatened to explode, because he had been holding his breath. His arms and legs shook because they were already weak from being injured, lack of sleep, lack of food, and the actions he had forced his limbs to do earlier while freeing himself. If Kabuto didn't move _right_ _now_, Naruto was going to fall on him.

"That can't be right." the Sound nin muttered as he turned on his heel and headed back the way he'd come. Once he turned the corner, Naruto let out his breath in a whoosh and fell silently back to the ground. His legs almost crumbled beneath him and he winced, but kept his footing. From the way things were going, he wasn't going to be able to fight anyone he came across, let alone Orochimaru.

_Doesn't matter, I am **not** leaving Sakura-chan behind!_ The blond began to move again, heading for Orochimaru's chambers.

He managed to reach the floor he knew Orochimaru's room was located on, but he heard nothing. Either the snake had soundproofed the room—doubtful, since Naruto labelled him as a kind of exhibitionist—or the bastard was done. Naruto growled as he thought about the Sannin putting his filthy hands on Sakura.

He rushed past the doors in the corridor, flying to the large double doors at the end. He faltered slightly as he passed the last door before Orochimaru's room, knowing it was Sasuke's room. But—chances were, he shouldn't depend on getting help. No, he and Orochimaru were going to duke it out alone.

Without slowing down, Naruto barrelled head-on into the double doors at the end of the corridor, smashing through them and stumbling into the room, but keeping on his feet.

Sakura let out a pitiful whimper from her position in the corner across the room. Naruto's eyes zeroed in on her and he took in her appearance. Her clothes were ripped, but she looked unharmed other than the two wounds on her cheeks Sasuke had inflicted.

_Good, she's all right—sort of. Now I just have to find—_

"Naruto, behind you!" Sakura shrieked.

The blond didn't even have enough time to turn his head completely before a snake flew at him, biting into his neck. Naruto stumbled, thrashing his arms around to rid himself of the snake, but it kept a firm grip. _Dammit, this thing better not be poisonous!_ With a vicious yank, Naruto pulled the snake away from his neck, hissing as a chunk of skin went with it.

He threw the snake out the door, into the corridor, and then leapt back a few steps, his hands up in a seal. _Kyuubi-jisan, I hope you've recovered, because God knows I can't fight him right now._ Naruto performed a seal, finishing the last one before Orochimaru calmly walked through the door.

The sight that greeted the Kage of Sound was definitely not what he expected. Blond locks turned red, blue eyes turned red, pronounced whisker marks and sharper teeth. This was _not_ Naruto.

"Kyuubi, I presume."

'Do not speak my name with your unworthy tongue, you despicable _snake_!'

Orochimaru's eyebrows rose as the words floated before his eyes. "It appears Naruto-kun's loss of voice also applies to you. That is something I wouldn't have expected." The snake master put both hands behind his back, regarding the figure before him impassively.

'You will pay for what you have done to _my_ kit! And for what you have done to Sakura!'

"Oh? You and Naruto are friends, now?" Orochimaru asked, a smirk on his face.

'I will punish you for what you have done to them!'

"Kyuubi-sama." Sakura whispered from the corner, the chakra conversation having also included her. "You're still weak."

"Yes, Kyuubi-_sama_." Orochimaru mocked. "You've healed Naruto-kun's wounds. Your chakra must be very low right now, and the pain the boy felt was probably shared by you." He looked Kyuubi up and down. "It's taking everything you have just to stand there, isn't it? I can see your muscles twitching. They're begging you to let them rest, but you're too stubborn to comply."

Without another word, Kyuubi lunged at Orochimaru. He didn't see a need in explaining he was shaking in anger. He had felt every second of the boy's pain, and the worst part of it had been when Orochimaru had been with him. He had been forced to stay buried in the back of Naruto's mind, wanting to comfort the boy but not being able to. Wanting to rip off Orochimaru's genitals and shove them down his throat, but not being able to.

Now, he could. And he fucking _would_!

* * *

"Kazekage-sama!" Tenten exclaimed, stunned. They had barely made it out of the tunnel that led from Sound to the outside when they were met with Sand nins and Gaara. Medics ran hurriedly to the injured, setting them down on stretchers and calling out orders. The mildly injured were sat down and tended to quickly. 

"I'm glad you managed to get out before we were forced to come and get you." Gaara said, tipping his head slightly.

"How long were we in there, anyway?" Genma asked as he winced, a medic nin tending to his broken arm.

"Approximately three days."

"Three days?.!" Neji burst out, and then groaned in pain.

"Neji-sama, please stay still!" the medic tending to him exclaimed.

"Felt more like three years." Kakashi voiced Neji's thoughts.

"I'm sorry it took us so long to aid you. My man on the inside could do nothing until he got my orders, and I had not been able to contact him until this morning." Gaara regarded the wounded and almost winced. From the looks of things, he'd waited too long. He was going to have to find some way to apologize to everyone who was tortured.

That was when his eyes found something that was missing. Or more specifically, _someone_. And not just one person, either.

"Where are Naruto and Sakura?" The words felt like glass in his mouth. Because if they weren't here, it meant they were either dead, or had been caught as they escaped.

"Sakura was with Orochimaru." Kakashi told the Kazekage.

"And Naruto went after her." Gaara finished, not needing Kakashi to tell him. It was something Naruto would do. He'd never leave Sakura behind, even if it meant risking his own life. "What of Sasuke?"

"He seemed sad we were being hurt, but he is still loyal to Orochimaru." Kakashi said. "_But_, Hokage-sama wants him _alive_."

Gaara just nodded before addressing the medic nins, "Get them back to the village and tend to their wounds. Also, have Baki send word to the Hokage informing her of the situation. We will need reinforcements as soon as possible. Have her send everyone she can spare."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama." The medic nins all departed hurriedly, holding stretchers containing the wounded, and helping the others along.

Gaara watched them all disappear, waiting until they were far enough away that they were mere dots on the horizon. He didn't want to risk having the Konoha shinobi hear what he was about to say.

"What's the plan, little brother?" Kankurou asked, readjusting the strap for his puppets.

The Kazekage turned to his men. "This morning, I received information from Mitsuru on what happened in there. Naruto, Sai, Neji and Kakashi were tortured in ways words cannot even begin to describe. They were horrible and unmerciful, and put things even I have done to shame."

"Who did this to our little brother?" Temari inquired, a coldness in her tone that matched her eyes.

"Sasuke."

"Oh, the fucker's dead." Kankurou growled angrily.

"This is precisely why I wished the Konoha shinobi to be gone before I gave out orders." Gaara said, crossing his arms and scanning the men that stood before him. "Once we are inside, we will commence the assault on Sound, but there is one condition I insist _must_ be done before the reinforcements from Konoha arrive." Everyone waited. "Your objective before the Konoha shinobi join us is to find Sasuke, and kill him."

* * *

Kyuubi's mouth opened in a silent cry as he slammed back against the stone wall before falling to the ground, coughing harshly. Blood flew from between his lips, landing on the cold, stone floor. 

"I'm disappointed. _This_ is the power of the great Nine-Tailed fox?" Orochimaru asked as he walked slowly towards the redheaded demon. "Must be living in that brat all these years. You're unable to master your full potential."

Kyuubi growled at Orochimaru insulting his kit. Of course, the growl couldn't be heard, since he had no voice box. It was during these types of battles that both Naruto and Kyuubi missed his voice the most. They were both vocal fighters, but now—the silence was deafening.

"I guess this just goes to show how much weaker my Sound Four are than myself. He managed to beat them all by himself, you know. They were in complete cursed sealed stage, and he beat them all. Quite amazing, that brat of yours. Of course, that's what I thought _before_ now." Orochimaru smirked at Kyuubi. "You're a thousand times more powerful than him, yet I am able to subdue you."

Kyuubi saw it coming fast enough to be able to avoid it. Orochimaru's neck had lengthened and he'd been aiming for Kyuubi's neck, trying to bite him. Trying to _seal_ him.

_There's no way you're putting one of those seals on **my** kit, you bastard!_ Kyuubi thought angrily as he leapt over the bed, landing on the other side and turning back to Orochimaru. His eyes widened as he noticed the man was gone.

"Looking for me?" Kyuubi ducked seconds before Orochimaru had the chance to clamp down on his shoulder. He'd even drawn blood he'd been so close to succeeding. This wasn't going according to plan, and Kyuubi was starting to fear for his host's life—and his own, since he and Naruto were technically the same person.

Sakura appeared behind Orochimaru, punching him in the back. Of course, that had about as much effect as flicking him in the forehead since she had a chakra restrainer around her neck. Without her super-strength, Sakura was just an okay-ninja. Kyuubi was an amazing demon, and even _he_ was having problems. The chances of Sakura doing anything were in the negative numbers.

Just as Kyuubi expected, Orochimaru turned and backhanded the kunoichi across the face, sending her crashing against the wall. She cried out painfully as she connected with it before slumping to the ground, nursing her injured arm. Everyone in the room knew things were going badly.

Kyuubi let out a small hiss, shaking his head. **"Sorry, kit. I'm at my limit. I did what I could."**

The change was instantaneous. Kyuubi returned to the dark recesses of Naruto's mind, exhausted and in pain due to all the healing and torture he and his host had been through. With the Kyuubi gone, Naruto's original features returned, and just like every time he and the Kyuubi switched, he stumbled and fell to the ground, breathing hard.

Orochimaru smirked as he easily bent down and wrapped one thin hand around the blond's tanned neck, lifting him easily off the ground. Naruto let out a gurgled choke as he clawed at the hand holding him, staring into mirthful swamp-green eyes.

"You are not as strong as I thought you were, Naruto-kun. I may have no use for you after a—" He cut off and his eyes widened as pain shot up his spine. He let the blond go and fell to his knees, both hand clutching his groin. Naruto stumbled backwards, coughing and clutching his throat as he leaned against the wall, his eyes still on the bastard he'd kicked in the groin. _If I had more time, I'd grab a stick, encrust it with glass and shove it up your ass, but since my time is limited, I'll settle for that,_ the blond thought with slight satisfaction.

He hadn't hurt the snake bastard nearly as much as he wanted to, but it would suffice. And now that he wasn't paying attention, he could finish him. Holding out his hand, Naruto focused on creating a ball of chakra in his hand, asking Kyuubi to lend him everything he had left.

The mixture of two different coloured chakras caused the Rasengan in his hand to turn purple, spinning wildly. Wishing he could roar, Naruto lunged towards Orochimaru, intent on slamming the purple ball of chakra right into the man's chest.

And he would've done so, too, had someone not flown through the doors and into the room.

"Stay away from him!"

Chidori chirped loudly in the room as Sasuke barrelled towards Naruto and Orochimaru, his face contorted with rage as he regarded the scene before him. Faster than anyone in the room could react, Sasuke had crossed the room towards Orochimaru and Naruto, the blond ninja only a step away from the snake master.

"I said _stay away_!"

"Naruto!" Sakura shrieked.

Sasuke's hand bit into soft flesh, Chidori still chirping wildly as he closed his first around the still beating heart his hand came into contact with.


	12. Watch It Burn

**Disclaimer: After a long and arduous night... I finally managed to steal Kiba... but then the police found me :sweatdrop: K. Masashi wasn't too happy with me, but he let me off with a warning if I promised never to do it again. I agreed, but only because there are others ways to get him other than stealing :grin:**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_There is a voice inside of you  
That whispers all day long,  
'I feel that this is right for me,  
I know that this is wrong.'  
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend  
Or wise man can decide  
What's right for you—just listen to  
The voice that speaks inside."  
_- Shel Silverstein

Nobody moved as they all stared at Sasuke. He watched dispassionately as blood trickled from the mouth before him. He knew not to expect a reaction—the poor bastard was already dead. Sasuke's hand was clenched around his heart, holding the organ outside the body it belonged in.

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura whispered, tears welling in her eyes as Sasuke pulled his arm out of the chest before him, the body falling limply to the ground. He threw the heart onto the ground beside it.

"You're not hurt, are you," he turned to the person he'd sworn to protect, "scaredy cat?"

Naruto stared at Sasuke wide-eyed before averting his gaze to the motionless body on the ground.

_He—killed him?_ Naruto thought, confused. _But I thought..._

"I-I don't understand." Sakura said before Naruto could sign his own disbelief. "You-you said 'stay away from him'. Didn't you mean—I thought you meant for Naruto to stay away from Orochimaru. I thought you were going to kill _Naruto_!"

"Tch." Sasuke turned away from Sakura, looking at Naruto. "All these years, and you still don't use your head. _Or_ your eyes." Naruto frowned.

Sasuke kicked the lifeless body of Orochimaru over so he lay on his stomach, exposing the hand he had clenched behind his back. Sakura stood up from the ground and Naruto moved closer, both of them looking at what Sasuke was showing them.

"He had an explosive tag in his hand. He was probably going to dodge Naruto's attack and then slap this seal onto Naruto. He would've killed him."

Both Naruto and Sakura looked up at Sasuke.

"You—saved him." Sakura said slowly, still not really believing it. "You left Konoha. You betrayed your entire village. You tried to kill Naruto, almost succeeding, might I add. Then, you evaded us for three years. You fought and tried to kill Naruto _again_. Then you evaded us, again. You tortured Naruto for God knows how long. You didn't stop Orochimaru from—you didn't stop him from hurting Naruto. You didn't stop him from hurting me. And now you walk in here all cool and macho, telling Naruto to stay away from Orochimaru and then _killing_ him?.!" Sakura exploded. "Are you loyal to no one?.! Or is it just the 'I'm Sasuke and I'll do what I feel like doing whenever I feel like doing it' attitude that you like to follow?.! After everything you_ did_, everyone you _hurt_ and _betrayed_, you think we can just _forgive_ you?.!"

Sasuke stared at the floor, listening to Sakura's rant, letting her get it out. She deserved to let it out. He just tried his best not to show how much it hurt—mostly because it was all true.

"We were sent to get you out of here, and you were going to be pardoned after five or six years of intensive punishment, but _now_?.! After Tsunade hears what you did to Naruto, she'll have you killed without a second thought! And fuck, you better hope _Gaara_ never finds out, because he'll ask to know _exactly _what you did to Naruto so he can do it to you, too, and _then_ kill you! And just so you know, I'd be _more_ than happy to tell him _every little **fucking** thing_ you did to Naruto! How I ever liked you I can't even _begin_ to understand! You are cold, and selfish, and—"

Sasuke looked up with a frown as she cut off abruptly. He was even more shocked to find himself facing Naruto, the blond having stepped between the two of them.

"Naruto." Sakura whispered, but he held his hand up to her, motioning for her to just wait. The kunoichi sighed, figuring she'd ranted enough—for now. She stepped back and to the side, wanting to see the interaction between Naruto and Sasuke. She would stay silent for the moment.

Naruto searched Sasuke's black eyes, but for what, the raven didn't know. Then, the ANBU Captain brought his hands up and began to sign to him. Sasuke frowned.

"I-I don't know what he's saying." he told Sakura, his eyes still on Naruto.

"He's asking if you want to say something." the other ANBU whispered, her heart clenching in her chest at the fact that Naruto couldn't even talk to Sasuke himself. He had exhausted his chakra fighting Orochimaru, and Sasuke couldn't read sign language. It really, _really_ hurt Sakura to have to translate for him.

The raven searched Naruto's blue eyes, wondering what the blond wanted to hear from him. _How about the truth? _a small voice in Sasuke's head supplied.

_Yeah, _Sasuke thought. _The truth sounds like a good idea._

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke spoke the truth, "I meant what I said. All those years ago, at the Valley of the End. I said—that you were my closest friend. And I don't think that ever changed. I think—you still _are_ my closest friend. And I would like to be yours again, if you'll let me."

Sasuke waited for a response, but all he got was Naruto's searching gaze, and a look that reminded Sasuke of himself. _Fuck, do I **really** look like that? No wonder people think I'm always pissed off._

The Uchiha had never wished more than at that moment that Naruto's face was as expressive as it used to be. "I can't take back what I did." he whispered. "I know I can't, and no amount of apologizing can make it all right. I just—forgot who I was. But then, I remembered again. You always could bring out the best in me." Sasuke let out a soft laugh, looking at the ground.

It felt weird to him, talking to Naruto like this. He felt like their roles were reversed. Naruto was acting like him, his face unreadable and silent throughout the entire thing. Sasuke himself was actually showing emotion, and he was speaking more than he ever remembered speaking before in his life. But no matter how weird it felt, he had to keep going. He wasn't finished.

"I owe a lot to you, Naruto. I never really stopped to think about how much your friendship meant to me, not until I realized I lost it. The funny thing is, I never realized I still had it until after I tortured you. It was during that time that you started to hate me, wasn't it?" He looked up at the blond, but Naruto didn't reply. "Throughout all these years, even after everything I did, I was still your best friend until I started torturing you. I had no idea. And now that I know—I wish I could take it back." The raven clenched his jaw.

"You can return everything I did." he said slowly. "And I know saying I'm sorry doesn't change what I did, but I—I just wanted to hear your voice again."

Sasuke stood in front of Naruto now, his hands clenched at his sides, waiting. He had finished what he wanted to say, and now, all he could do was wait. Wait to see if Naruto would forgive him. He knew no man in their right mind would, but Naruto was different. Naruto was special. And Sasuke only recently realized how special Naruto was to him.

And not just Naruto. Sakura and Kakashi, too. His team. Team Seven. They were the most important people in the world to him, and he never even realized it until a few moments ago.

Sasuke looked at Naruto's hands as the blond began to sign after two minutes of silence. He begged his brain to just learn sign-language on the spot, wanting nothing more than to know what the blond's reply was, but his brain didn't cooperate, so he could do nothing but wait for Sakura to translate.

"Naruto says..." the girl trailed off, shaking her head slightly with a sigh. Sasuke wanted to strangle her. "He says that—you never lost his friendship."

Those words alone were like a slap in the face for the Uchiha. "What?" He turned to Naruto, the blond smiling at him. "Are you crazy, dobe?.! I tortured you! I hurt you! I tried to _kill_ you! Are you telling me that not once during all these years have you _ever_ hated me?.! Not even a little bit?.!"

Naruto just continued to smile his contagious smile, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"You should know better than anyone else, Sasuke-kun." The raven turned to Sakura. "Naruto never goes back on his word. That's his way of the ninja."

"What the hell does _that_ have to do with anything?.!" Sasuke demanded incredulously.

"He promised you years ago that he would drag you back to the village, even if he had to break your arms and legs. He promised me he would bring you back. Why would he keep such a promise if he didn't care about the person he was bringing back?" Sakura smiled slightly.

Sasuke had never thought he'd want to hug the girl more. He walked towards her slowly and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly to himself. Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him back, tears flowing down her cheeks.

They were a team again. She couldn't believe it.

"I'm sorry, Sakura."

"Me, too, Sasuke-kun." The raven frowned at these words as Sakura pulled away.

Then, the Uchiha went sailing across the room, slamming painfully into the far wall. He looked up stunned, his hand coming up to touch his bleeding lip. Sakura's collar had mysteriously disappeared in the time between Orochimaru's death and now. Sasuke suspected she'd found the keys on the floor right before Sasuke had killed Orochimaru, and had taken the collar off while he had been apologizing to Naruto.

"Naruto may have forgiven you, but that's because he's an idiot." Sakura glared at Naruto. He just smirked at her. "I, on the other hand, do not plan to forgive you for a _long_ time. Not until I've kicked the shit out of you at least five times for what you did to Naruto. Fuck, his _eyes_?.!" Sakura hollered angrily as Sasuke slowly got to his feet. "Even if he _did_ have his voice, I would've _killed_ you if you'd done anything to his eyes! They're gorgeous eyes!"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. _Sakura-chan thinks I have gorgeous eyes?_ he thought, confused.

"And how the hell is he supposed to be a good Hokage without his eyes?.! Cause we all know he's going to be the next Hokage!"

Naruto's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. _What is Sakura-chan **talking** about?.! I mean, it's true and all, but—she's **admitting** it?_

"I swear to God, when we get back, I am going to pound your ass so hard, you'll wish you'd never been put on the same team as me! You'll be bawling like a baby, but I won't stop until—" Sakura's words died in her throat as Sasuke appeared before her again, his chin tilted slightly to the side, offering her his cheek so she could hit him again.

Naruto and Sakura stared at him, stunned, the pink-haired girl's mouth opening and closing a few times, but no words coming out.

"Sorry." Sasuke whispered, taking a step back. "Did you want to finish yelling at me before hitting me?"

"You distracted me." Sakura whispered, smiling softly as she stared at the ground. "I'm glad you're back, Sasuke-kun."

"I'm glad, too." They both heard a clap and turned to Naruto, who motioned himself with a huge grin on his face. Both shinobi laughed.

"Yeah, and you, too, dobe."

Naruto pouted at this, but Sasuke just smiled. He'd never stopped calling Naruto 'dobe'. Even when he thought of the blond in his head, he always referred to him as 'the blond dobe'. It was a pet name Naruto had picked up since they were kids, and it was going to stay with him for life. _All the way up until he becomes Hokage,_ Sasuke thought with a smile.

"There he is!" Three heads snapped towards the door as they heard yelling. Naruto grinned as he noticed they were Sand nins and bounced towards the door, waving.

"Naruto-san, out of the way!" Alarmed by the urgency in the man's voice, Naruto leapt to the side and turned back to the room, searching it for any possible threat. He saw none. Orochimaru was still lying dead on the ground, and the only other people in the room were Sakura and Sa—

_Sasuke!_

"Wait!" Sakura screamed, but it was too late. The Sand nins had already thrown a multitude of kunai and shuriken; too many for Sasuke to dodge. In a way, Sasuke didn't even _want_ to dodge. He felt he deserved them. So, he merely clenched his eyes shut, waiting for the pain.

Naruto panicked, waving one hand wildly towards the approaching weapons, and to his amazement, they all bounced off a chakra shield that had suddenly materialized in front of Sasuke, sending them all dropping to the floor.

The Sand nins stopped in their tracks, stunned. Sakura gaped at Naruto while the blond stared at his hand, completely stunned. _Hn, learn something new every day,_ Naruto thought with a small smirk.

Sasuke felt no pain and chanced opening his eyes, only to see all the weapons lying on the ground. He let out a slow breath before turning to Naruto, who was gesturing wildly to the Sand nins. It took Sasuke a few seconds to realize he was signing to them, and he wondered how many people knew sign language because of Naruto.

"Gaara made them learn it." Sasuke turned to Sakura as she appeared beside him, her arms crossed and her eyes on Naruto. "It's what you were wondering, right? How many people knew sign-language?"

Sasuke turned back to look at Naruto. "I suspect almost everyone in Konoha knows it, huh?"

"Nope." Sasuke turned back to her, startled. "Naruto is still hated in Konoha. Only people who actually care have learned it. Mind you, there are quite a lot of us, but not nearly as many as I'd like. Over half the village still hates him."

"But when I left, less than a quarter of the village liked him." Sasuke turned back to the blond, who was now hitting one of the younger Sand nins in the head. "At least he's managed to make an impression on a few people since then."

"Yeah. He really loves Sand, though. Everyone there loves him and doesn't judge him. They regard him as a type of hero for making Gaara who he is today. He used to be a monster, but just one meeting with Naruto, and he became Kazekage." Sasuke did a double take.

"_Gaara_ is _Kazekage_?.!" Sakura frowned at him.

"You didn't know? You've been kept in the dark, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke blushed slightly, turning away, running his hand backwards through his hair at the back.

"Yeah, kind of."

"You!" Sasuke's head snapped towards the window before he flew backwards into the wall, wind pressing down on him from all sides.

"Temari-san!" Sakura exclaimed. "Stop! It's okay!"

"The hell it is! This bastard goes and tortures _my_ little brother, and you say it's okay?.!"

_I don't recall doing anything to Gaara,_ Sasuke thought as the pressure of the air around him increased. He noticed Naruto bouncing up and down in front of Temari, trying to get her attention, but she ignored him, glaring at the Uchiha instead.

Naruto kicked Temari in the shin and she finally turned to him, looking him up and down. "Are you okay? Are you healed? Do you need a medic?"

"What am I, a goose?" Sakura demanded, insulted. She was the best medic in Konoha after Tsunade! She was even better than Shizune in some fields, for crying out loud!

"Sorry, Sakura." Temari said over her shoulder, her eyes still looking Naruto up and down for any injuries.

Naruto just waved his hand in front of her face and then motioned the pinned Sasuke, who was quickly finding it hard to breathe. "Yeah, what about him?" the sandy-haired girl asked.

'_Lethimgolethimgolethimgo!'_ Naruto signed hurriedly.

"Let him go?" Temari asked, confused.

"Yes! Let him go!" Sakura exclaimed.

Confused, the Sound nin waved her hand, dispelling the Jutsu that held Sasuke in place. The raven fell to the ground, coughing violently as he readjusted to the pressure around him. Sakura ran to his side, helping him stand.

"What the fuck did I ever do to Gaara?.!" Sasuke bit out angrily.

"She meant Naruto." Sakura explained as she checked Sasuke for any long-term injuries. She'd seen others fall victim to Temari's Jutsu, and most of them had seemed fine at first, and then collapsed later on.

"She calls Naruto her little brother?" Sasuke asked, confused, turning to Sakura.

"So do Kankurou and Gaara, since Gaara is a bit older than Naruto."

"Like one big happy demon family." Sasuke muttered.

"Oh, Gaara's not a demon anymore." Sakura insisted, now certain Sasuke was going to be all right.

"What?" the raven asked, confused.

"Oh, yeah, a couple of years ago, Akatsuki caught Gaara and extracted the demon. He died, but Chiyo-sama gave her life to bring him back." Sasuke just blinked, and then shook his head. _I don't understand, and, you know what, I don't really want to know._

"You guys found him!" Sasuke just ducked this time, a wooden puppet flying over his head, one of the arms almost slapping Sakura.

"Kankurou!"

"Sorry, Sakura!"

"No, wait!" the pink-haired girl insisted as Sasuke ducked another attack from the deadly puppet and jumped over the bed.

"I'll get you for hurting my little brother, Uchiha!" Kankurou hollered. Naruto jumped in front of him, gesturing wildly, trying to get Kankurou to pay attention to him. "Not now, Naruto. I'm going to make this bastard pay!"

"Kankurou, stop!" Sakura exclaimed.

"What?" The brunette turned to Sakura, confused, just as Sasuke lay on the floor on the other side of the bed, his hands covering his face and Crow's poisonous needle protruding from his mouth inches away from Sasuke's upraised arms.

"He's not an enemy!" Sakura exclaimed, rushing around the bed and almost choking. "Shit, get Crow off him!"

"Sakura, this is no time to return to your old Sasuke-obsessed self." Kankurou insisted calmly.

"I'm not!" the Konoha nin shrieked. "Get Crow _off_ him!"

Naruto jumped in front of Kankurou, signing wildly. _'It's not what it looks like! He killed Orochimaru! He's a good guy! He's okay!'_

"You mean he was just acting? You weren't actually tortured?" Naruto winced at this.

'_No, I wasn't tortured. It was all an act.'_

"Don't lie, dobe." Naruto turned as Sakura helped Sasuke to his feet, Crow now sitting on the bed. "I don't even have to know sign-language to know you lied. They have every right to be mad."

"You mean you _did_ torture him?" Temari's eyes narrowed. "Are you lying to us, brat?" She rounded on Naruto. The blond just groaned.

"Yes, I did torture him. And I'll gladly take any punishment you deem fit for my actions."

"I'm glad you feel that way." a dispassionate voice said before sand began to encase the Uchiha.

_Ahhhhhhhhhhh!_ Naruto's mind screamed as he ran across the room and waved his hands in front of Gaara wildly. _Will someone just **listen to me**!_

Gaara began to close his fist and Naruto grabbed it, forcing it to stay open. "He deserves it, Naruto!"

'He deserves a lot!' Naruto informed via chakra, feeling some of it returning. Besides, his hands were busy trying to keep Gaara from crushing the Uchiha. 'He's done unspeakable things.'

"So let me kill him!"

'It's not your decision to make!'

"The hell it's not!"

'Gaara, I won't forgive you!'

The Kazekage paused at this, staring at Naruto, stunned. "What?"

'If you kill Sasuke, I won't forgive you. This isn't your decision to make. It's not even mine. Sasuke has done horrible things, this is true, but he's somewhat atoned for them by killing Orochimaru.'

"What's going on?" Sasuke whispered to Sakura, still encased in sand.

"Naruto's talking to Gaara via chakra."

"Why didn't he do that with me?"

"He was probably low on chakra back then, but now it's back." Sakura shrugged.

Sasuke watched the two for a while longer, listening to only Gaara's side of the conversation. "What's Naruto saying?"

"I don't know." Sakura admitted. "This is a conversation only Gaara's meant to hear."

Sasuke suddenly felt all the sand dissipate and let out a cry as he fell to the ground, wincing as his tailbone screamed in protest.

"I still don't approve of letting him live. Know that." Gaara spat to Naruto angrily before turning and storming out of the room. Temari, Kankurou and the Sand nins followed.

"You should've just let him kill me." Sasuke insisted as Sakura and Naruto both held out their hands to him. He took them, allowing his teammates to help him stand. The blond shrugged in response to his statement.

"Come on, we should get out of here." Sakura said, looking down at Orochimaru with disgust. "Let's burn this place to the ground."


	13. Fear

**Disclaimer: ****K. Masashi stole Kiba from me! HE WAS MINE! I SWEAR!**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_The voice so sweet, the words so fair,  
__As some soft chime had stroked the air;  
__And though the sound had parted thence,  
__Still left an echo in the sense."  
_- Ben Johnson

Itachi and Kisame stared at the smouldering remains of Sound, some parts of the village still on fire while others yet were completely reduced to ash.

"Great. All this way for nothing." Kisame muttered. "What a waste of time."

Itachi said nothing; he merely stepped forward, walking over the charred remains of what must've been an arch at the front of the village. He walked over the burned buildings, looking around. A few bodies littered the streets here or there, and he could see more inside the buildings, burned to a crisp.

"Think the demon was still around?" Kisame asked, swinging his Samehada over his shoulder and scanning the burnt down village.

"No." Itachi said, looking up from the ground where he'd been staring at a bloody corpse. "This either happened to help him escape, or he did it himself as he escaped."

"Hn." Kisame grunted, looking around. The stench of death was starting to bother him. "Where do you think he headed off to, then?"

"Sand." Itachi turned and began walking towards the exit.

"Sand, huh? Why Sand?" Kisame followed, looking around dispassionately.

"He and the Kazekage are friends. Sand is closer than Konoha is, so it wouldn't surprise me that the injured were taken there."

"I guess. Hey, do you think Orochimaru died?" Kisame asked as he caught up to his companion, the two of them walking back the way they'd come.

"I am unsure."

"What about your brother?" Itachi smirked behind the high collar of his Akatsuki cloak.

"He is still alive."

"How do you know?" Kisame asked, confused.

"I can still smell his fear."

* * *

"It's gonna be weird." Sasuke insisted as he leaned against the balcony railing, looking over Sand. Sakura was sitting in a chair behind him. 

"What is?" she inquired, placing the book she'd been reading aside.

"Being around him and not hearing him yell at me." Sasuke whispered, his eyes following the group of healed ANBU as they walked towards a bar. Naruto was with them. Sakura and Sasuke hadn't wanted to go.

Well, Sasuke knew he wasn't really invited, based on the glares he was getting. He thought maybe Sakura said she didn't want to go just to keep him company—or keep an eye on him. He wasn't sure. He didn't really care. He was glad he wasn't alone. He'd been alone for a long time.

"You get used to it." Sakura said to him, snapping him out of his musings.

"Have you?" he asked, turning to look at her. She held his gaze for a few seconds before looking away.

"No, but others have." She sighed, stretching slightly. "A lot of people haven't, though. But, you deal, and just remember that the one suffering the most is him."

"Is there a chance he'll get it back?" Sasuke inquired, feeling his throat clench at the thought of never hearing Naruto's voice again.

"Kyuubi's been working on it for a year. All we can do is wait, and hope he goes back to being the loudmouth blond we all got used to."

"Yeah." Sasuke whispered.

They sat in silence for a long while, and Sakura was just about to pick her book up again when Sasuke spoke.

"How did it happen?"

"No one knows for sure." Sakura whispered. "Kakashi and Naruto are the only two who do. Naruto won't tell anyone, and he asked Kakashi not to, either. Tsunade-sensei almost sent Kakashi through a window when he refused to talk about it." The ANBU smiled softly as she recalled the memory. "I was so—scared." Her hands clenched against her Jounin pants. "I thought—I didn't think he was going to make it. I thought I was going to lose another teammate." Sasuke winced at this. "You're not going to go after your brother again, are you?"

"I'll let him come to me." Sasuke shrugged. "If I stick close to Naruto, he'll come by himself."

The air was filled with another awkward silence, neither really knowing what to say. Sakura hated the fact that things had become like this between them.

"What's going to happen to me when I get back to the village?"

"I don't know." Sakura admitted. "You'll probably be put on some kind of probation. You'll be watched constantly, and I heard something about you not being allowed to leave the village for a while."

"I guess that's fair." Sasuke said quietly, a little pissed he was going to be controlled yet again. Although this time, he knew he deserved it.

The two sat silently again, Sasuke wearing a frown on his face and Sakura, a thoughtful expression. Sasuke then turned to Sakura, cocking his head to one side as he mused something over.

"What did you mean before?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, confused at Sasuke's question. "What you said about Gaara. What did you mean?"

"Well, you know he had the One-tailed demon Shukaku in him, right?" Sasuke nodded. "Well, Akatsuki captured him—almost got Naruto, too—but we went to get him back. By the time we got there, Akatsuki had already extracted Shukaku from Gaara, and he died. But, we still had his body, and Chiyo-sama used a Jutsu to bring him back to life. I learned it, too." Sakura clenched her fists, staring down at her knees. "I spent almost a year learning it, making sure I got it right. Making sure I knew it perfectly."

"For Naruto." Sakura looked up at Sasuke as he spoke. He was looking over the balcony again, his back leaning against the railing and his arms crossed. "In case Akatsuki gets him and extracts Kyuubi. You want to make sure he comes back."

"Yeah, but I don't want him to know I learned this Jutsu."

Sasuke frowned, turning back to Sakura. "Why not?"

"It comes with a price. To save another person, you must exchange your life for their own."

Sasuke stared at Sakura for a long while, but she avoided his gaze, staring at her knees instead. Sasuke turned his head back to gaze down at Sand.

"Exchange your life for theirs." he said quietly. "Sounds like something you would do." He thought about it for a minute before turning back to her. "Teach me."

Sakura's head snapped up, green eyes locking with onyx ones. "W-what?"

"Teach me this Jutsu." Sasuke shrugged. "I may not have perfect chakra control, but I want to know this Jutsu. I want to help you protect him. And, just in case, I also want to protect you."

Sakura was stunned. Sasuke wanted to learn this hard Jutsu in order to save not only Naruto, should it come to that, but her, as well. This was incredible! Where had the cold bastard gone?.!

"Sure." Sakura finally said. "If you want me to—I will."

"Thanks. Let's go." Sasuke uncrossed his arms and pushed off the railing, heading back inside the room. Sakura stood, following him inside, her book forgotten on the table.

* * *

Sasuke breathed hard as he sat strapped to a chair, gagged and blindfolded. He tried not to let it show, but he was terrified. No, beyond terrified. He was pretty sure he was going to die. 

The second Sasuke had passed through the gates of Konoha, ANBU had appeared and grabbed him, putting a black bag over his head before forcefully dragging him away. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know how long he'd been there. He didn't know anything, really. For all he knew, he was already dead and suffering in hell or something.

"Hello, Uchiha-san." Sasuke turned his head slightly as he heard the voice, footsteps echoing off the walls. Sasuke recognized his voice, even though he knew he probably wasn't meant to.

Morino Ibiki. Things couldn't get any worse than this.

"I'm going to have to ask you to calm down." Sasuke jerked slightly, the voice coming from much closer than he'd anticipated. Ibiki was concealing his chakra so that Sasuke couldn't pinpoint him. "We're going to have to ensure your loyalty, and the Hokage has requested I find out what, exactly, you did to Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat, and his hands clenched on the armrests of the chair. He was going to be killed for sure when the Hokage found out about all the torture he'd put Naruto through, especially since the blond wasn't around to keep him safe.

Upon arriving at Sand, they'd all spent the first night relaxing and recuperating from their time in Sound. The next morning, Konoha shinobi had arrived to escort Sasuke home. All the ANBU went with him, except Naruto. The Kazekage had requested he stay, so he had. And now, Sasuke was alone in Konoha, his only ally thousands of miles away.

"I am going to insert senbon in your throat." Ibiki informed. Sasuke's breathing quickened again. "This is to freeze your vocal chords so that you won't damage your throat screaming."

_Thanks, that makes me feel better, _Sasuke thought, shifting in his chair and clenching his fists again.

"Just relax."

_You **fucking** relax when someone tells you they're going to shove needles in your throat!_ the Uchiha thought angrily.

Sasuke felt the first senbon pierce his skin and his clenched fists tightened even more. He could feel the cool metal as it dug deeper into his skin, entering the muscles around his throat until finally going into his oesophagus. After the first one was through, another joined it, Ibiki moving in a circle around his neck. By the time he was done, it looked like Sasuke was wearing a spiked collar.

"All right, Uchiha-san. Brace yourself, because this is really going to hurt."

_Thanks!_ Sasuke thought angrily before excruciating pain overtook his mind. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before. It was almost like someone had ripped open his skull and was grabbing handfuls of his brain, pulling it forcefully out of his head.

Sasuke tried to scream in agony, but the senbons froze the sound in his chest. He was almost thankful, since he knew that he probably would have screamed himself raw.

"All right." Ibiki said as the pain began to dissipate. Sasuke breathed hard, clenching and unclenching his fists, shaking his head slightly. Vaguely, he wondered if this was how Naruto felt while Sasuke had been torturing him. Wanting to scream; wanting to voice his pain, but not able to.

"That was just a small dose to get you used to the pain." Sasuke's blood ran cold as Ibiki spoke these words. His breathing quickened again and a sweat broke out across his entire body. "What I am going to do now is going to hurt more, and last longer. You're in for a rough night."

* * *

"Are you _sure_ you should be heading back?" Temari demanded as she watched Naruto get his stuff in order. "You've only been here a day. Gaara was hoping you'd stay for a while longer. Rest a little, you know?" 

'I want to make sure I'm there when Tsunade-bachan decides what to do with Sasuke.' Naruto stated via chakra, his back still to Temari. 'I don't want him to be killed or tortured because of what he did. He's a good guy.'

"Good guy." Temari scoffed, crossing her arms and looking away. "Sure."

'Teme _is_ a good guy. He just doesn't know it, sometimes.'

"I'm sorry, what was that? Oh, yeah, I couldn't hear you over the sound of Sakura shrieking for Sasuke to stop." Temari snapped angrily. The blond winced as he closed his bag and stood, turning around to face her. "I say you stay here and let whatever happens to him happen."

'_You have to understand, Temari.'_ Naruto signed with a sigh. _'No matter what he's done, he's still my best friend. Gaara and I had that brutal fight the first time we met, and look how we turned out.'_

"You and Sasuke had fights like that, and more of them than you and Gaara have!" Temari snapped. "Besides, Akatsuki is in the area."

'_I know, that's why Sakura-chan is meeting me half-way.'_

"There's no changing your mind, is there?" the Sand nin sighed, shaking her head.

'_You should know me better by now.'_ Naruto grinned before picking up his bag and hugging Temari. _'Take care. Tell Gaara I'll be back in a week or so.'_

"Okay. You're lucky I'm not going to tell him right now, cause he'd never let you leave."

'_I know. It's why I love you, and you'll wait until tonight to tell him.'_

"Yeah, yeah. Get out of here." She smirked as she ruffled his hair, the blond swatting her hand away irritably before waving and leaving the room.

He left Sand, waving at various people he knew and making his way cautiously to the gate. If Gaara so much as _glanced_ at him wearing a bag, Naruto would be eating sand for the next five years. _Almost there. Almost there,_ Naruto thought as he headed for the gate.

"Where are you going?" The blond jumped a mile high and spun around, his heart jack-hammering in his chest. "'Cause I know you're not leaving to save Sasuke from whatever punishment he deserves." Eyes narrowed at Naruto and the blond winced.

'_I'll be back, Kankurou, I promise. I told Temari one week. It's all I need. Then, I'll be back for a month.'_

"Gaara's going to kill you." the puppet master informed, crossing his arms.

'_Only if he finds out.' _Naruto gave Kankurou the best puppy eyes he could muster, which caused the other man to sigh.

"Fine, go. But—be careful."

'_Always am.'_ The blond grinned before turning and bolting through the gates.

He ran as fast as he could, knowing Gaara would come after him personally once he found out Naruto had left. The blond planned on being back to Konoha by that time. All he'd have to do was meet up with Sakura, and then hurry home with her.

Honestly, the blond knew he could make it home safely by himself, but Sakura had insisted on meeting up with him. He'd had no choice but to agree—and hate it. He didn't want Sakura around, just in case he _did_ run into Akatsuki. He was useful to them, she wasn't. He didn't even want to _think_ of what they'd do to her if they captured her. _Especially since she's a medic nin only one level beneath Tsunade,_ the blond thought grimly.

The ANBU Captain travelled for close to two hours without meeting another soul. It was only when he was about to cross the threshold between Wind Country and Fire Country that he skidded to a halt, breathing hard. His hands flew in a seal, Naruto giving control over to Kyuubi.

The fox stumbled as he gained control of his host's body, still weak from all the healing and torture, not to mention the battle with Orochimaru.

"**What is it, kit?"**

"**I don't know, but I feel something's wrong."** Naruto replied as Kyuubi walked forward slowly, wincing and breathing hard.

"**I can't fight for you today, kit."**

"**I just wanted to talk to you. Do you sense it?" **The Kyuubi paused, narrowing his eyes and listening hard, as well as trying to sense any chakra—concealed or not—around them.

"**I feel it."**

"**Akatsuki?"** his host inquired.

"**Seems to be. I estimate around two. The Uchiha is one of them."**

"**Damn. Thanks, Kyuubi-jisan."**

"**Hurry home, kit."** The fox relinquished his control and Naruto stumbled, falling to his knees.

The blond shook his head before forcing himself back on his feet and rushing into the trees before him. He had to get to the cliffs just off of Konoha, where he'd mastered how to summon Gama Bunta. If he got there, he'd be able to climb down and disappear from their radar. From there, all he'd have to do is follow the river until it turned into a waterfall, and then climb back up. He'd be just a few miles away from where Sakura was meeting him.

As he ran through the trees, he tilted his head slightly and almost cursed. He could hear footsteps behind him. They were really close.

Naruto assumed they were Itachi and Kisame, because if Kyuubi sensed Itachi, he was most probably with the shark-man. The two of them were always together, like best friends or something. Only Naruto knew they weren't best friends. Uchihas didn't call anyone their 'best friend'.

Naruto skidded to a halt as a dark figure appeared before him, clad in a black robe with red clouds. A glance behind himself showed that another figure was there, too, holding a large sword. Shit. That meant Itachi was in front of him, so he could use Mangekyou.

The blond turned his head to the side, avoiding any kind of contact with the Uchiha. He could hear Kisame coming closer behind him. He was already low on chakra, not having had enough time to relax and heal, so if the shark-man came too close, Naruto would pass out.

Then again, if Naruto walked forward to avoid Kisame, he'd be walking towards Itachi, which was even _more_ dangerous, because just seeing his fucking _toe_ twitch would send Naruto into a genjutsu.

_Brilliant, _the blond ANBU Captain thought with a scowl. _I walk backwards and I pass out. I walk forward and get trapped in a genjutsu. Decisions, decisions._

"How's it going, Nine-Tails?" Kisame inquired with a smirk as he walked forward, his sword swung over his shoulder. "It's been a while since we last met up with you. Still a mute?" Silence was Kisame's only answer, which caused him to smirk and look past Naruto at Itachi. "Guess so."

'Itachi's still going blind, and you're still ugly. Guess none of us have changed.' Naruto informed via chakra. Both Akatsuki members narrowed their eyes.

"You're coming with us, Naruto-kun."

'Bite me.' Naruto hurled himself to the side, jumping through the trees and running for all he was worth. He didn't have enough chakra to escape, Kyuubi wasn't strong enough to fight, and Naruto himself was already getting exhausted from having to run all day. Things were looking bad. He had to get away now, as fast as he could.

The blond jumped over a short shrub only to widen his eyes as he noticed a steep hill on the other side—the end of which was the cliff-edge he'd been aiming for. Naruto hit the ground hard, rolling down the hill. He breathed hard as he struggled to grab hold of something—_anything_—but nothing stayed in his hands for long. His breath hitched in his throat as he flew headfirst into the ravine.


	14. My Voice

**Disclaimer: Kiba snuck out of the house and we got on a plane together to escape from K. Masashi... but he was on the same plane. I swear, the guy has the ability to read minds!**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_But I still don't have a clear idea of what my voice is."  
_- Kathy Acker

Naruto wasn't scared of heights. It was true, he could admit it. They'd never really bothered him. However, _depth_ was a completely different story. People made the mistake of assuming height and depth were the same thing. Naruto would have no fear of standing on top of the Hokage tower and looking down at the village. If he fell _off_ the Hokage tower, however, the depth of his fall—yeah, that was a little scary.

Just like right now, dangling headfirst over the edge of a large cliff, the only thing holding him up being his torn Jounin pants caught on a root at the edge of the cliff. Yeah, depth was _definitely _something he wasn't liking right now.

Breathing hard, the blond focused chakra into his hands before placing them on the cliff, letting out a slow breath as his hands connected. Slowly, he began to push himself back up, using all the upper body strength he could muster until his hips cleared the top of the cliff and he hastily rolled onto his back and sat up, bringing his whole body back onto the edge.

He let out a sharp gasp before burying his face in his hands. _Close. Too close. That would've made for a nasty fall,_ he thought as he lowered his hands and stood. He looked around, trying to spot Itachi and Kisame, but the Akatsuki members were nowhere to be found. He was thankful. They would've had him by now if they had followed him.

The blond stood and made his way cautiously along the cliff-edge, moving as fast as he deemed safe. He wanted to catch up with Sakura quickly, before the Akatsuki did. His stomach twisted into knots as he thought of them anywhere near Sakura. _Kami-sama, **why** didn't I tell her to just stay home?_ he thought, annoyed with himself.

As he moved, he heard an ear-shattering screech and his blood ran cold.

_Sakura!_

He moved faster than he thought possible, headed in the direction the scream was emitting from, wanting to get to her before anything horrible happened. He leapt up through the trees, wincing as a branch scraped his cheek. It didn't heal, not that he blamed Kyuubi. The poor fox had done nothing but heal Naruto for three days. Naruto could deal with it.

He burst through some branches into a clearing, seeing Itachi holding Sakura around the throat, their eyes locked.

'Let her go!' Naruto sent a wave of chakra at Itachi, wishing with all his might that he could holler those words to the Uchiha. The blond did Shunshin no Jutsu (1) until he was right beside the Uchiha, avoiding all kind of eye contact with any part of Itachi's exposed skin. He figured if he just stared at the robe, he'd be fine.

He summoned all the chakra he could into his hand before slamming it into the Uchiha's back. Itachi disappeared in a cloud of smoke, Naruto falling to his knees and gasping, holding his stomach. Itachi had tricked him, so now, he had to leave. Immediately.

_Sakura-chan,_ the blond thought as he crawled to her, sitting her up. She had the same blank look in her eyes as Naruto remembered seeing in Sasuke's all those years ago. Mangekyou. Shit. _Hold on, Sakura-chan. I'll get us home._

The blond stood unsteadily, lifting Sakura in his arms. He winced and fell to one knee, Sakura still in his arms. He breathed hard, shaking his head. He couldn't go home like this; he'd never make it.

"**Kit, come to me."** Naruto frowned, always finding it strange when the fox talked to him when he wasn't in control. It was rare.

The blond placed Sakura down before performing the seal that would switch them. The second Kyuubi was in control, he grabbed Sakura in his arms and began running towards Konoha.

"**I have only a bit of energy left. I'll get you as close as I can to Konoha. Then, you're on your own. I'll be sleeping."**

"**Thanks, Kyuubi-jisan."** the blond replied gratefully.

* * *

Tsunade slammed through the front doors of the hospital, rushing past a hoard of nurses headed for her. 

"Where are they?" she demanded of the first one she saw.

"Sakura-san is in recovery. She was exposed to Mangekyou Sharingan. Naruto-san was in intensive care the last time I was upstairs."

Tsunade turned and headed for Naruto, intent on making sure he was fine first. As she reached the room he was in, she opened the doors, only to find all the medics inside groaning and rubbing their heads. Some were sitting up while others were still unconscious on the floor.

"What happened?.!" Tsunade demanded urgently, the worst scenarios running through her mind.

"Naruto-san woke up. We asked him to stay, but he demanded to know about Sakura-san. Once he was told her condition, he tried to leave." One of the medics stated, shaking his head as he stood. "We tried to stop him because he was still too weak, but he attacked us."

"You should know better than to try and keep the two of them apart." Tsunade said as she turned on her heel. "You're lucky it wasn't Sakura." she called over her shoulder before rushing down the corridor.

"Tsunade-sama."

"Shizune." the Hokage acknowledged as the brunette appeared beside her, the two in-step.

"How was Naruto-kun?"

"He wasn't there. He's with Sakura." Tsunade grabbed a doorknob and threw open the door, walking in to see Naruto sitting on the edge of Sakura's bed, holding her hand tightly. He looked up as the door opened, and Tsunade noticed he looked pale.

"Naruto, you shouldn't have left the intensive care." Tsunade scolded as she made her way to Sakura. "What happened?"

'_Itachi attacked us. Kyuubi-jisan took control and got us home, but we were both exhausted. All I had time to inform the ANBU at the gates of was that Sakura was exposed to the Mangekyou. I don't know what kind of nightmare she was in.'_ the blond signed hurriedly before grabbing Sakura's hand again. It was almost like he didn't want to let her go for even a second.

"It'll be all right, Naruto. Just give me some space, okay?" Tsunade bent down beside Sakura as Shizune wrapped an arm around Naruto and pulled him away.

The Hokage spent twenty minutes fixing the damage done to Sakura, and once everything was right again, Sakura's eyes snapped open and she jerked up.

"Naruto!" she shrieked.

The blond was by her side in a second and Sakura proceeded to crush him to death, hugging him with everything she had, as if she were scared he would disappear. She sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder, Naruto rubbing her back soothingly.

"Don't leave me. Don't ever leave me." she sobbed.

Naruto would've reassured her, but he had no chakra left to spare, and his hands were currently occupied, so he just continued to rub her back.

"What happened, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, placing her hand on her student's shoulder.

"They took him." Sakura sobbed. "I was right there, and they took him. They extracted Kyuubi, and he... he..." Sakura dissolved into another fit of sobs, clutching Naruto even more tightly than before.

"It's okay, Sakura. He's right here." Tsunade insisted.

They let the pink-haired girl cry for another ten minutes before Naruto pulled away and Sakura calmed down, the two of them sitting together on the bed, Tsunade in a chair beside them and Shizune by the closed door.

'_What's going to happen to Sasuke?'_ Naruto inquired. _'Is he going to be all right?'_

The Hokage's lips pressed together angrily. "I haven't decided yet. Ibiki told me about what happened."

'_He didn't mean it!'_

"Don't tell me he didn't mean it, brat!" Tsunade snapped. "You could've died! More than once!"

'_He feels bad about it! He saved me from Orochimaru! He just wants to have his life back! Just—put him on probation or something. Let him live his life normally, but keep him confined to Konoha and D-rank missions for a few years. He'll show us he's loyal, I know it!'_

"We'll see, brat." the Hokage sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I'll think about it. For now, I'm going to work on you. Come on, get back in intensive care."

Naruto glanced at Sakura, but she just forced a smile. "I'll be fine. I'll come see you as soon as I'm allowed out of bed."

Naruto nodded and left the room, the Hokage following close behind.

* * *

"Sake all around, courtesy of Naruto!" Kiba hollered as he waved an empty sake bottle in the air. 

'_I don't think so, dog-breath!'_

"Ouch. Dog-breath?" Kiba inquired before cupping his hands around his mouth. He exhaled through his mouth and inhaled through his nose before making a face. "All I smell is sake."

"It's probably cause you're drunk." Ino teased. The Inuzuka snorted.

"So are you!"

"I know!" the blonde girl giggled.

"Naruto." The ANBU Captain turned as he heard the voice and saw Iruka Umino standing behind him. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Standing, Naruto led the way outside the bar they were in, Kiba calling for another round on Sai, who was in the bathroom. He knew the bartender would ignore him. Once outside, Naruto turned to the man who was like his father.

'_What is it, Iruka-sensei?'_

"How are you feeling? All right? Been doing well?" he asked as he took Naruto shoulders and turned him this way and that, inspecting him. Naruto let out a breath of laughter before pulling free.

'_I'm fine, Iruka-sensei. Tsunade-bachan fixed me the best she could this afternoon and I feel great. Never better. I felt a little bit like shit in Sand, but I feel tons better now.'_

"You're not lying to me, are you?" Iruka demanded, narrowing his eyes.

'_No, Iruka-sensei. I'm not. I promise.'_

"Okay." The Chuunin smiled at Naruto. "How have things been—between you and Sasuke? I heard you went to visit him this afternoon after leaving the hospital."

The blond nodded. _'It went well. I think he regrets everything he's done. He seems to be happy to be home, even if he **is** just trapped in a cell. I've been trying to convince Tsunade-bachan to let him out.'_

"He's not the same man he was, Naruto. He may still have an ulterior motive." Iruka warned.

'_So? I'm an ANBU Captain, now. I can kick his ass.'_ Naruto grinned after signing this, both hands clasped behind his head.

"Sure, get cocky." Iruka rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to check up on you. I'll let you get back."

'_Want to join?'_ Naruto asked, doing his best puppy eyes, even though he knew it was no use.

"No, thanks. I have to be up early tomorrow to teach at the Academy."

'_Ah, well. It was worth a try.'_ Iruka laughed.

"Take care of yourself, Naruto." He waved to his former student as he walked down the street, Naruto waving back before entering the bar again. He sat back down beside Sakura, the pink-haired girl hugging him tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Naruto." she said, a smile on her face. "I was really worried. I knew it wasn't real, but it just—it messes with your mind."

'_I know, Sakura-chan. But I'm okay, and so are you.'_

"Yeah." Sakura hugged him again.

"Stop crushing him, Sakura." Ino insisted in her half-drunk state.

"But how can I when he looks so cute?" Sakura smirked as she poked Naruto in the ribs. Everyone stared at Naruto wide-eyed as a squeak emitted from his mouth. Kiba's fork was halfway to his mouth, dangling in mid-air with the food beginning to fall off.

"N-Naruto." Ino stuttered, amazed. "D-did you just—"

Naruto did a seal before she could even finish and fell face first into his plate.

_

* * *

Naruto bolted through the corridors, water splashing up all around him. He slammed into a wall in his haste to turn, but ignored the pain and kept going. _

"_Kyuubi!"_

"_What is it, brat?" Kyuubi stared at him through the bars, a smirk on its foxish face and a glint in his eyes. _

"_Kyuubi! Did you—is it—?" Naruto couldn't finish his questions. Kyuubi should know what he meant, anyway._

"_I told you to give me time, kit." the fox replied. "With the Hokage healing you, she replenished all of my chakra reserves and I've been working on your throat since this afternoon. Your voice should be back in a few days. Don't use it until I tell you it's all right, or else you'll strain all my hard work and I might have to start over." _

_Tears welled in the blond's eyes as he regarded the fox, unable to control himself. _

"_Kyuubi-jisan," he whispered, sniffing as tears spilled across his cheeks, "if you fix my voice, I'll let you out for an entire week."_

"_A week, huh?" Kyuubi smirked. "Sounds like fun. Tell Sakura I'll be waiting to see her." _

_Naruto was pulled back to the front of his mind._

* * *

Naruto's eyes snapped open, Sakura and Ino wiping food off his face while Sai held his head up for them. 

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sakura asked worriedly.

A face-splitting grin took over the blond's face and he was in such a rush to sign to her that he had to stop and start over three times because no one could catch what he was saying.

'_Kyuubi-jisan said he'll have my voice fixed in a couple of days.'_

"Really?.!" Sakura shrieked before crushing him in a hug. "Oh my God! Oh my God, I could _kiss_ him! I _will_ kiss him! Next time he's out, I am going to kiss the hell out of him!" Tears spilled down the pink-haired girl's cheeks.

Naruto was going to have his voice back. He was finally going to be able to be the loud-mouthed, obnoxious ninja he'd been his entire life. And Sakura didn't mind one damn bit.

Naruto patted her back and then tried to pull away. He wanted to tell her something. Motioning for everyone to pay attention, he began to sign again.

'_Don't tell anyone about this. I want to surprise them all myself when I get my voice back.'_

"Dude, I almost wish _I_ didn't know." Kiba admitted. "Shit, everyone is going to be so stunned."

Naruto just grinned.

* * *

Sasuke sat on the small bed provided for him, his hands clasped before him, resting his forehead against them. He was still awaiting his 'sentence'. Personally, he felt the torture he'd gone through with the memory extractions should've been enough. 

_Yeah, sure. Enough,_ the Uchiha scoffed at his own choice of words. _I almost burned out Naruto's eyes, and I **did** throw acid on his back. What I went through was probably nothing compared to what I did to him._

Sasuke lay back down on the bed, trying to think of something else. He let a small smile form on his lips as he thought of the evening he'd spent with Sakura. It had been full of laughter and jokes, mainly because Sasuke couldn't do anything she was teaching him. He'd forgotten what it felt like to laugh. It had been a fun night.

He wished he was out of this cell, just so he could go and spend time with Team Seven. Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto. Just—for all of them to go and spar or something. _I haven't tested the dobe's strength, yet,_ Sasuke thought with a smile, lying on his back with both hands behind his head. _I should give him a couple of days to recuperate, though. I can spar with Kakashi-sensei._

Sasuke sat up as he heard footsteps headed in his direction. An ANBU stopped in front of his cell and did a seal, opening the door.

"The Hokage requests to see you to discuss your punishment." the ANBU spat bitterly before turning and walking away. Sasuke stood, following him towards another room. Once there, the ANBU turned and grabbed Sasuke's arm, wrenching him forward.

"Hold on to me." Sasuke cocked an eyebrow but did as he was asked, holding the ANBU's arm. He did a seal and the next thing Sasuke knew, he was standing in the Hokage's office. He figured the room he'd been in was designed to lead you straight to the Hokage, provided you knew the correct seals.

"Uchiha-san." Tsunade said coldly. "Please, sit."

Sasuke obeyed, taking the seat in front of her desk as the ANBU took his leave, disappearing in a puff of smoke. And now, Sasuke was alone with the Hokage, after having brutally tortured the one person she cared about most of all. Sasuke was preparing himself to be thrown through a wall.

"You can come in, now." Tsunade called.

Sasuke braced himself for whatever was coming as he heard the door open and then close. Footsteps neared him and he took a deep breath, waiting. Nothing happened as the footsteps stopped behind him.

"You can stop looking so nervous, Uchiha, it's Naruto." Tsunade spat.

Instantly, Sasuke relaxed before turning in his chair and looking at the blond ANBU Captain. Naruto smiled brilliantly at him before waving and moving around Sasuke's chair, sitting beside him.

"Now then," Tsunade steepled her fingers against each other, "we're going to discuss your punishment." Tsunade sighed, shaking her head. "I feel like a mother scolding her child." She locked eyes with Sasuke. "A very, _very_ **_bad_** child." The Uchiha winced.

'_Ne, Tsunade-bachan. What are you going to do, then?'_ Naruto signed.

"What did he say?" Sasuke asked as coolly as possible, trying not to seem worried.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Tsunade replied curtly. Sasuke winced. "I have thought of discussing your punishment with Naruto, since he is the one you hurt the most, but then again, we all know he has too big a heart, so I've decided to ask someone else." Both Naruto and Sasuke frowned at this. "You can come in, now."

A door to the left opened, Sakura emerging from within, her arms crossed. Sasuke felt his heart plummet to the pit of his stomach. Sure, he and Sakura had enjoyed themselves in Sand, but he knew she wouldn't ever forgive him for what he'd done to Naruto.

The pink-haired girl stood behind Tsunade, her arms crossed. "Well, then. Let's start. Firstly, for your crimes, what do you believe to be a suitable punishment?" Tsunade clasped her hands together, regarding Sasuke.

The Uchiha thought carefully about it. If he gave too little time, they would think he didn't regret what he'd done, but if he gave too much time, they would think he was being too cautious and probably planning on betraying them.

"I think—I should be deprived of any missions above D-rank for five years. I should also be confined to the village for seven years. I should have to retake all tests required to graduate from the academy to ensure I am still worthy of a hitai-ate. And—maybe, I should not be allowed to use the Sharingan for an entire year."

Tsunade nodded her head slowly, digesting everything he'd just said. The Hokage turned to look at Sakura, but the pink-haired girl didn't look appeased.

"No, it's too lax." Sasuke's eye twitched, but he said nothing. He knew he deserved whatever she had to throw at him. "I think he should be denied the use of the Sharingan for the five years he'd doing his D-rank missions."

'_That's not fair, Sakura-chan. It's a part of him.'_ Naruto signed. Sasuke cursed for the fiftieth time the fact that he couldn't read sign language.

"I don't care, it's what he deserves. That, or I pour _acid_ in his eyes." she spat bitterly.

"I deserved that." Sasuke admitted.

"You deserve a _lot_ more than that." Sakura insisted.

'_Compromise.'_ Naruto interrupted, before the two began to bicker. Honestly, he never thought he'd see the day where Sakura would choose _him_ over _Sasuke_. _'How about two and a half years? It's close enough to three, and not as brutal as five. Good enough?'_

"Fine." Sakura muttered, looking away angrily.

"Fine what?" Sasuke asked, looking back and forth between them all.

"Everything you said is to be your punishment, but your use of the Sharingan is prohibited for two and a half years. You'll be followed at all times by at least one ANBU. Should you try to evade them, you will be arrested."

"Fair enough." Sasuke nodded.

"The Uchiha residences have been vacant since your departure. You may take up residence there again, or live elsewhere. The choice is yours."

"I'll move back into the main house." Sasuke said. "You can have whichever ANBU watching me stay in one of the other residences."

"All right. Everything is in order. I'll alert all ANBU of this change. Naruto." The blond cocked his head slightly. "You'll watch him first." Naruto nodded and stood, motioning for Sasuke the follow. The raven obeyed, following Naruto out of the room and then out of the building, walking down the street with him. Naruto was leading the way to somewhere, and Sasuke frowned as he suspected he knew where they were headed. His thoughts were confirmed as he looked up at the sign hanging over a small stand.

"I should've known you'd drag me here." Sasuke smirked as he sat down beside Naruto, the blond signing that he wanted Miso ramen. Teuchi asked if Sasuke wanted anything and he asked for the same, the old man turning away to fill their orders.

"So..." Sasuke trailed off, wanting to talk but never having been one to do so. It was weird he wanted to now. "Thanks—for helping me out. I didn't deserve it."

'You've been an asshole since forever. I'm used to it." Sasuke looked around, confused, before looking at Naruto again, the blond staring at him. 'What? Oh, that's right. This is my chakra communication. I didn't want to sign to you, because you don't understand.'

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. "You finally got better than me in something, dobe." Naruto just stuck his tongue out at Sasuke as Teuchi put two ramen bowls before them.

"Enjoy."

'_Thanks.'_ Naruto signed to the old man, clapping his hands together in his usual fashion to say 'Itadakimasu'. Sasuke winced before looking down into his ramen, mixing the noodles.

"I hate to ask, but—how did that happen?" Sasuke didn't specify, but he knew Naruto would understand. He glanced at the blond and saw him staring down into his bowl.

'I'll tell you about it later.' Naruto took a bite of his food.

"Why? How come no one's heard about it? Why did you tell Kakashi not to tell anyone?"

'Because it's none of their business!' Naruto insisted angrily, a scowl on his face.

Sasuke sighed, looking into his bowl. He hated not being able to have a _real_ conversation with Naruto.

'I'll tell you later. I promise.' Naruto reassured.

* * *

(1) "Body Flicker". Kakashi can do this. It's almost like Hiraishin no Jutsu, except with Shunshin no Jutsu, you can't go as far, or go to specific places. It's also not as strenuous on the body. 


	15. To Hear Your Voice Again

**Disclaimer: I kidnapped Kiba, but K. Masashi knew it was me and demanded a ransom. How do I tell him I just want to keep Kiba and screw the ransom?**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_Music is the harmonious voice of creation; an echo of the invisible world."  
_- Giuseppe Mazzini

Sakura yawned as she opened her door, her back killing her. She'd been on an all-night watch of Sasuke and was ready to get to bed. It was close to five in the morning.

As she walked into her apartment, her eyes zeroed in on a note lying on the ground. She frowned and bent down to pick it up, reading it.

'Sakura-chan, come to the training grounds as soon as you get this! It's urgent! Hurry!'

Sakura was out of her house so fast she didn't even lock the door. Scenario after scenario ran through her mind, all of them involving Sasuke. _It can't be him, I was just watching him. _

Sakura appeared in the large clearing in the training grounds, turning in a circle. She was panicking, her breath coming fast, her stomach clenching and her throat closing up.

"Naruto!" she screamed. "Naruto, where are you?.!"

"Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakura-chan!" Sakura froze, her eyes widening. How long had it been since she heard that scream? How long had it been since Naruto had said her name?

Sakura felt tears sting her eyes and she spun around, Naruto walking slowly towards her, smirking.

"Kami-sama." she whispered.

"It's still a little scratchy." Naruto said, clearing his throat. "And it hurts a little, but it should be oka—" Naruto flew off his feet, startled, as Sakura launched herself at him, hugging him tightly.

"I can't believe it. It's back. Your voice is back." She sobbed into his shoulder. "I can't believe it." Naruto smiled and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back.

"I wanted you to be the first one to hear it."

"Thank you." she whispered.

"Want to come with me to tell everyone else?" Sakura pulled away and grinned.

"Hell yeah!"

"Who first?" Naruto asked as the two began walking, Naruto shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Kiba. No, no, Kakashi-sensei! Oh, no, Iruka-sensei! Wait, Tsunade-sensei!"

"I can't do all of them first." Naruto laughed. "We'll get to them all. How about we do Iruka-sensei first? Actually, I'll go see Iruka-sensei and you go tell Kakashi-sensei to meet us in the training grounds. He'll be late, like he always is, and I'll yell out 'liar'. Sound good?"

"Sounds great. I'll meet you back there." The two went separate ways, Naruto running with a huge grin on his face.

The blond ANBU Captain reached his former sensei's house quickly, climbing silently through his living room window. He inched towards Iruka's bedroom and saw the Chuunin fast asleep. Smirking, he bent down beside him.

"Ne, Iruka-sensei, buy me ramen." Iruka groaned, rolling over.

"Maybe later."

"But Iruka-sensei, I'm hungry." Naruto insisted.

"Naruto, go home." The Chuunin let out a deep breath, settling back into his blankets.

"Will you buy me ramen later, then?"

"Yes, fine." Iruka mumbled. "Just let me sleep. I can't if you're babbling away like—" Iruka sat bolt-upright in bed, turning to look at Naruto. He let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "Oh, hey, Naruto. Sorry, I was just dreaming."

"About what?" Naruto inquired, smirking.

"That you could t—" Iruka froze, turning to look at Naruto. He then jumped out of bed, causing Naruto to fall flat on his ass. The Chuunin bent down in front of him, grabbing his collar. "What did you say?.!"

"I asked what you were dreaming about." Naruto smirked.

Iruka's hands were shaking. He lost his grip on Naruto shirt and fell back on his behind, staring at Naruto incredulously. "It-it's back?"

"Yup." Naruto grinned, running one hand through his hand. "Kyuubi started fixing it a few days ago. It just got healed completely tonight." And again, Naruto found someone hugging him to death, although he had to admit, for someone without super strength, Iruka was pretty strong.

It took Naruto close to twenty minutes to leave Iruka, who kept insisting he was dreaming, but he managed to get away and meet up with Sakura at the training grounds. She waved at him, telling him they'd probably be waiting a while. Naruto said it was fine.

Just in case Kakashi was close-by, Naruto signed the conversation to Sakura. The pink-haired girl wanted to tell him to forget about it and just talk, but she knew he wanted to surprise Kakashi. It took the other ANBU close to ten minutes after Naruto arrived to get there. This was probably the earliest he'd ever been in his life.

"Sorry I'm late." Kakashi said as he walked towards them, his hands in his pockets. "I was attacked by a band of thieves who wanted to steal my brain to conduct experiments on my genius. Naturally, I disposed of them."

Naruto glanced at Sakura and she smirked. Together, the two of them pointed at him, hollering, "LIAR!"

Kakashi stared at them, seemingly in too much shock to even react. He scratched his head before looking around, confused.

"Is there an echo in here?"

"Does Sakura-chan sound like me?" Naruto demanded, crossing his arms.

"Holy shit, his voice is back." Kakashi said incredulously.

"You noticed, too, huh?" Sakura grinned at Naruto. "I can't wait for Tsunade-sensei to hear your voice again."

"Yeah." Naruto grinned wickedly. "It'll be awesome."

* * *

Tsunade didn't even look up as Naruto entered her office, knowing full well he was just going to annoy her into buying him ramen or something. He didn't have any missions, since he had the entire month off, and she knew he wasn't looking for any, either. Kyuubi may have been great, but some of Naruto's injuries had been pretty bad. Even if they looked healed, they probably still had a ways to go. No amount of help from even _her_ would heal him fast enough for him to go out anytime soon. 

"What do you want, brat? I'm busy."

"Why do you always call me that?.!" Tsunade's pen dropped and her eyes widened. Was this some kind of sick joke?

Slowly, carefully, Tsunade looked up at the boy standing before her, an impossibly huge grin on his face.

"N-Naruto?"

"Yes, Tsunade-bachan?"

Seconds later, Naruto found his mouth wrenched open with Tsunade looking down his throat. "How is this possible? I don't understand. Did Kyuubi heal it? Does your throat hurt? Are you straining yourself?" Naruto wrenched free from Tsunade, clutching his jaw.

"How do you expect me to answer if you're talking that fast and holding my mouth open?" He glared at her.

"Sorry." Tsunade said, her hands itching to grab him again.

"Kyuubi said that when you were healing me, something happened and he managed to work on it more than he had in the last year."

"So it's back for good?" Tsunade demanded.

"Oh yeah. It's back for good." Tsunade launched herself at Naruto, suffocating him. He had to admit, he was starting to hate everyone doing that to him. Kiba had practically sent him on his back he'd hurled himself at Naruto so fast.

"How many people know?"

"A few. I haven't told Sasuke yet. I'm headed there now."

"You're not on duty." Tsunade insisted with a frown. Naruto laughed, causing Tsunade to smile. She'd missed his laugh.

"Not as an ANBU, as a friend." He smiled at Tsunade, rubbing the back of his head.

"All right. Be careful." The blond nodded before leaving the room.

He jumped onto the closest rooftop and made his way to the Uchiha compound, jumping to the ground as he reached the gates. He walked through them, nodding to the ANBU on duty who sat perched on the roof of a nearby building. The ANBU nodded back. By his posture, Naruto assumed it was Kiba. He had to admit, if Sasuke was going to evade someone, it wasn't going to be Kiba. The guy would be able to sniff him out.

Naruto walked up to Sasuke's house and knocked on the door. It opened a few seconds later, Sasuke crossing his arms and leaning against he doorframe.

"What do you want, dobe?" he inquired. The blond just shrugged. Smirking, Sasuke turned his back, walking further into the house, motioning for Naruto to follow.

"Teme." Sasuke froze. He turned slowly, looking at Naruto who had closed his front door and was now bent down, taking off his sandals. Shaking his head, Sasuke made himself believe he'd imagined it.

"Come on, dobe. I'll make us tea." The raven frowned. "And ramen." he added as an afterthought.

The two of them made their way to the kitchen, Naruto sitting down at the small table while Sasuke got stuff in order. Naruto managed to suppress a snicker as he watched the Uchiha, an image of Sasuke in a pink, frilly apron appearing in his head.

Once the water was boiling for both the tea and the ramen, Sasuke sat down in front of Naruto.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Sasuke inquired. The blond merely shrugged again.

Sasuke and Naruto stared at each other for a while, and then the raven began to think. He was Naruto's best friend—he still couldn't believe that—and he didn't know sign language. If he was going to have conversations with the blond, he was going to have to be able to communicate in ways other than just chakra.

"Can you teach me sign language?" Naruto's head snapped back, stunned, and he almost spoke aloud he was so shocked. He caught himself just in time.

'You want to learn sign language?'

"Yes."

'...why?'

"Because." Sasuke looked away from him, a pink tinge on his cheeks. "You're my best friend, and it's weird that I'm the only person who doesn't know it."

'Well, you don't need to learn it.'

"I don't want to rely on chakra all the time. You never know when you might not have any and I need to talk to you."

'I'm telling you, you don't need to learn it.'

"I want to, dammit!" Sasuke slammed his fist on the table, causing Naruto to jump. "Why don't you want me to know it? So you and your other friends can bitch about ice-bastard Sasuke behind my back?.!"

"No, it's because I don't need it anymore." Sasuke's head snapped back as he stared at Naruto, stunned, the blond grinning widely.

"You..." Sasuke trailed off, still in shock. Then, shock was replaced by anger. "You _lied_ to me?.!"

"What? No!" Naruto exclaimed, his grin fading. "No, I just got it back. Seriously! Listen to my voice, it's gravely." Sasuke frowned, realizing Naruto was right. The blond grinned again. "Kyuubi worked on it all week, and it's back now!"

"I'm glad, dobe." Sasuke smirked.

"Teme!" Naruto hollered. Sasuke never thought he'd love that word more.

"I'm glad I'm able to hear your voice again." Sasuke admitted. "I missed it."

"Me, too." Naruto admitted.

The water boiling interrupted their conversation. Sasuke stood to make the tea and ramen, bringing them back to the table. Naruto began to slurp down his noodles as Sasuke drank his tea, watching Naruto.

"You going to tell me how it happened?" Naruto's slurping paused. The blond stared down into his bowl for a few minutes before nodding slowly.

"I told you I would, and I guess since I have my voice back, it's a good time to." He looked up at Sasuke. "Just don't judge Kakashi, all right?"

Sasuke nodded, and Naruto began.

**

* * *

**

Flashback, one year previously.

Naruto and Kakashi flew through the trees, their ANBU gear torn and their masks nowhere in sight. Naruto was pretty sure his had fallen into a swamp nearby, but he wouldn't bet his ANBU status on it.

They'd been commissioned by the Mizukage to find and kill five specific nukenin. They'd evaded Mist ANBU for close to three years, and were now beginning to cause problems. The only people they believed could fulfill this mission were Naruto and Kakashi. The Chakra Devil and The Copy Ninja.

They'd caught up with three of them, but they'd had lackeys with them. While Naruto and Kakashi had fought off the other shinobi, the three nukenins had escaped. They were now pursuing them.

"If they have followers, we're going to have a hard time getting to them." Naruto told his former sensei. "They'll just leave them behind to fight us while they escape."

"It's what cowards do." Kakashi stated calmly.

The two of them stopped at the same time, both having sensed the same thing. They shared a look and Naruto nodded.

"Traps." Kakashi voiced aloud.

"The question is, what type?" Naruto scanned the area slowly, hating the trees obscuring their view.

The two knew they had to end this soon. The nukenins had entered Fire Country, and would probably head towards Konoha. They didn't want them attacking the village. Chances were, the ANBU present—and other ranked shinobi—would stop them quickly, but that wasn't the point. They didn't want a fight to break out in Konoha where non-shinobi could get injured.

"Come on, let's keep moving. Slowly." Kakashi led the way, Naruto following him.

They walked cautiously, looking around for anything they should watch out for. Both sensed a large amount of chakra being dispersed and shared a look.

"Something was just summoned." Kakashi said as he raised his hitai-ate, exposing his Sharingan eye.

"You don't say." Naruto smirked as he walked forward a bit.

The blond then jumped backwards as a kunai landed right where he'd been standing. He scoffed. "Please. You'll have to do better than that!" he hollered to his attacker.

"Naruto, don't." Kakashi warned. That was when Kakashi realized he was standing in a trap, explosive tags forming a square around him. "Shit!" He jumped backwards just as the tags exploded, landing outside the box.

"Kakashi!" Naruto hollered as he ran towards the Copy Ninja.

Kakashi seemed to turn in slow motion as a giant summoned wolf flew towards him, his eyes widening. Just as the wolf jumped in the air, aimed for Kakashi's throat, Naruto appeared in front of him. The wolf slammed into the younger shinobi, sending him flying backwards into Kakashi, the two of them falling to the ground.

Naruto screamed in pure agony as the wolf clamped down on his throat and didn't let go. Kakashi had never heard such a sound before in his life, and he felt his blood freeze. Suddenly, the screaming was no more as the wolf wrenched his head backwards, a chunk of Naruto's throat still in its mouth.

Kakashi's eyes widened, horrified. "Naruto!" He hurriedly pulled himself out from beneath the blond and pulled out his katana, slicing the wolf in half. He then turned worriedly, sitting beside Naruto and examining his wound. The blond was unconscious with blood oozing out of his neck. Kakashi's heart jackhammered in his chest as he got unsteadily to his feet, grabbing Naruto. Fuck the mission, he had to get Naruto back to Konoha. Back to Tsunade.

"Hang on, Naruto. Hang on." Kakashi exclaimed as he pulled the blond into his arms and began to run in the direction of Konoha.

He hadn't taken more than five steps before he found his path blocked by shinobi. Looking around, he realized he was surrounded. This was bad. Here he was, outnumbered, with an unconscious Naruto who was probably going to bleed to death. _I won't let that happen!_ The Copy Ninja insisted as he narrowed his eyes.

"Hatake Kakashi. The Copy Ninja." the shinobi in front of him said with a smirk. "And that would be Uzumaki Naruto, the Chakra Devil."

"You're the nukenin." Kakashi stated coldly. "You did this."

"We did." another one of the shinobi around him said.

"In that case, be ready to die." Kakashi placed his student and friend on the ground, ensuring no one could get near him, and pulled out his katana. "Let's get started. Who wants to die first?"

**

* * *

**

End of Flashback, Present.

"I don't know any more than that." Naruto finished, twirling the noodles in his ramen. "Kakashi just told me up to there when I passed out, and refuses to tell me anything more. I know he broke an arm and had a gash in his chest, but I don't know any details on how it happened. Those nukenins are still at large, but if I ever encounter the one who summons wolves, I'll have Domike summon Kimon and have him rip out that asshole's throat." Naruto spat the last line bitterly.

"Why couldn't anyone know about it?" Sasuke whispered. The blond shrugged.

"I didn't want people to say it was Kakashi's fault. It was my choice to take that blow. Gaara knows, and he blames Kakashi. He was the first and only person I told, and after I saw how he reacted, I decided no one else could know. I told Gaara I'd never speak to him again if he told anyone. I know if Temari or Sakura found out, they would hate Kakashi. He doesn't deserve it."

"He was careless." Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"See, even you!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "It wasn't his fault! Kakashi is the best shinobi we know! He's incredible! He's saved us more times than we can count! Even if I _hadn't_ jumped in front of him, one of us would've gotten our throats ripped out. And I sure as hell know I wouldn't have been able to fend off all the shinobi that surrounded him after I passed out."

"He could've made that story up."

"Listen to yourself!" Naruto hollered. "Who cares whether I lost my voice or Kakashi did? One of us would've and I was thankful it was me! With Kyuubi, at least _I_ had the chance to survive! Kakashi would've died!" The blond got to his feet, Sasuke frowning. "Forget it. Obviously, you're just like Gaara. You don't understand that Kakashi saved my life. I'm going home, I'll see you at my next shift."

Without another word, Naruto left Sasuke's house, slamming the door behind him, the raven not having the chance to say a word.


	16. Akatsuki

**Disclaimer: Kiba and I managed to sneak him out of the country, but K. Masashi ended up on the same plane as us :sweatdrop: That was awkward...**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice."  
_- William Shakespeare.

Naruto rolled over in bed, trying to get comfortable again. He hadn't been able to sleep because of what Sasuke had said. It was incredibly similar to what Gaara had said. Why did they look at it that way? Couldn't they just be glad that Kakashi had managed to bring him back and save his life? He could've left Naruto behind in favour of the mission, but he hadn't. He'd almost died trying to protect him. Wasn't that enough?

Naruto heard knocking on the wall and sighed, knowing it was Sakura. She was sleeping in the next room—Naruto hadn't managed to get her to go home tonight—and she always knocked on the wall when she wanted to know if he was all right. He knocked back once. One knock for 'I'm fine', and two for 'please come here'. Everything was silent in the room next door again and Naruto sighed.

He put both hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling, and let a small smile form on his lips. He could talk again. He couldn't believe it. Then again, he didn't have much time with his voice since he'd promised Kyuubi he'd let the fox out the next morning the second he woke up. Since Kyuubi would be in control for a week, Naruto was going to have to wait a while before he was allowed to use his voice again. Kyuubi had promised not to use any chakra, because when he did, Naruto's drained. He didn't want to risk killing his host, especially since he regarded Naruto as a son. Of course, he'd never admit it to Naruto, but he had the feeling the blond knew, anyway.

Naruto's curtains fluttered and he sat up, turning to look at his window. He frowned, certain he'd closed it before going to bed. He stood up to go do that, and as he pulled the curtains apart to close his window, he came face to face with red Sharingan eyes.

"Hello, demon."

Naruto let out a sharp cry before Mangekyou overtook his mind.

Sakura bolted up in bed, throwing the covers off herself. She had to admit, the sound had scared her more than the fact that it had been a small scream. She was so used to Naruto not being able to talk that it had startled her.

She walked next door, knowing Naruto was prone to falling out of bed. She wasn't too concerned, but she may as well check on him. She knocked once on the door before pushing it open and looking in his room. The sight that greeted her was unexpected, and she froze for a few seconds, unsure of what to do.

Then, she turned and bolted out of the apartment, running as fast as she could towards the Uchiha compound. Once there, she ran by the ANBU on duty, not even sure who it was, and ran up to Sasuke's home. She pounded on the door loudly, waiting for Sasuke to answer. She didn't stop pounding, not even when she heard the raven walking down the stairs. She could tell he was annoyed by the sound of his steps, but so was she, so fair's fair.

_If he doesn't hurry up, I'm knocking down his door!_ the pink-haired girl thought angrily.

The door opened a second later, and Sakura grabbed Sasuke by the front of his shirt, lifting him off the ground. The raven's eyes widened, horrified, confused as to what was going on.

"Where is he?.!" Sakura hollered, smashing him against the wall. Sasuke let out a grunt before grabbing Sakura around the wrists, trying to make her let go.

"Where is who?.!" he hollered back, just as angry now.

"Naruto! What did you do?.!"

"What are you _talking_ about? I thought he was at home, with you!"

"I heard him scream and when I went in his room, his window was wide open and I saw someone with the Uchiha symbol on his back disappearing! Naruto was with him! The only Uchiha I know is _you_!"

Sasuke's eyes widened, horrified, and this made Sakura realize that Sasuke was _not_ the only Uchiha left alive. She dropped Sasuke and backed up shakily, her hand over her mouth.

"Oh God. Oh my God! Oh, God!" The girl ran out the door, Sasuke hot on her heels, the two of them running for all they were worth.

"Sakura-san!" They heard the ANBU call after them.

"Domike, find Kakashi! Now!" she hollered over her shoulder as she and Sasuke continued running.

They made it to the Hokage tower quickly, Sakura running past all the questioning ANBU, and Sasuke ignoring them as they tried to stop him. If Itachi had Naruto, that meant the Akatsuki had Naruto. If the Akatsuki had Naruto, that meant he was going to die. They had to go after them as soon as possible! Hell, Sasuke would've been _gone _already if he wasn't worried of being hunted and killed when those ANBU going after him could be doing more good chasing Itachi.

"Tsunade-sensei!" Sakura hollered as she slammed through the doors of the Hokage's office.

The blonde woman jerked up in her seat, having fallen asleep at her desk. She shook her head and wiped drool away from her lips as she saw Sakura and Sasuke.

"Sakura, what can I—"

"Itachi has Naruto!" Sasuke blurted out.

As if someone had hit an on-off switch, Tsunade was wide awake and on her feet. "What? What do you mean?.!"

"I heard Naruto scream from his room. Itachi must not have known he got his voice back." Sakura explained hurriedly, her words almost all running into each other. "He was wearing Sasuke's clothes, so I'm assuming he did it in case anyone saw him. He wanted us waste time going after Sasuke while he gets away with Naruto!"

There was a knock at the door before it opened, Kakashi not even waiting for an answer.

"What's wrong, what happened?" he asked worriedly.

"Akatsuki has Naruto." Tsunade said urgently, running back behind her desk. Kakashi paled.

"What?"

"We have to get a team organized right away." Tsunade said hurriedly, pulling out a scroll. "Kakashi, you and Sakura head out now. I'll have Hyuuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, and anyone else who wants to help join you as soon as I've got them assembled."

"I'm going, too." All turned to Sasuke.

"You're not allowed." Tsunade reminded.

"Fuck that, he's my best friend!" Sasuke hollered. "I don't care if I have to sneak out of the village and become a nukenin to find him, but you're not keeping me here while my _bastard_ of a brother takes someone else from me! I've lost too many people to him, and I _refuse_ to let Naruto join that list!"

Tsunade looked at Sakura, the girl just nodding. Sakura understood how Sasuke felt. She had no objections to him coming. Well, she had one, but she would discuss it with him as they went.

"Very well. All three of you leave now. I'll get another team together."

They were gone before she even finished her sentence.

* * *

Three shadows flew through the streets hurriedly, all of them wearing full Jounin gear. Two of them had katanas strapped to their backs, showing they were ANBU. The final one just had standard weapons, but he was just as dangerous. These three people were going to fight for the life of their friend. 

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked as they kept moving.

"Yes?"

"If you forget about Naruto in favour of killing Itachi," the girl turned to look at her old teammate, "I'll kill you without a second thought."

"This isn't about Itachi." Sasuke snapped. "This is about Naruto! I won't lose him!"

"Good." Sakura faced forward again and they continued on in silence.

"We shouldn't be too far behind them." Kakashi said to his two former students. "We should get there quickly enough, provided they're at the same place they were the last time when they extracted Shukaku from Gaara."

"Maybe we should summon Pakkun." Sakura suggested.

"Good idea." Kakashi pulled out a kunai and cut his thumb. Replacing the kunai, he performed a seal and then stopped to slam his hand onto the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

"Yo." Pakkun said. Kakashi began running again, the other two having continued when he stopped. "Oi! Oi!" Pakkun turned and ran after Kakashi, catching up easily. "What's going on?"

"Akatsuki has Naruto." Pakkun turned to the owner of that voice and stared. "What?"

"Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Long story." Kakashi insisted. "But like he said, Akatsuki has Naruto." The small brown dog turned back to Kakashi, stunned.

"Akatsuki has Naruto?.!"

"Isn't that what _I_ said?" Sasuke grumbled.

"We need you to find Uchiha Itachi's scent and make sure we stay on track." Kakashi said, ignoring Sasuke.

"Understood." Pakkun said, moving to the front of the team and leading them. Five minutes later, he smelled something new.

"We've got company." he informed.

"How many?" Kakashi asked.

"Too many to count. Coming up behind us." Pakkun stated.

"Shit!" Sasuke hissed. "We don't have time for this!"

"Wait." Pakkun paused and sniffed again. "It's familiar."

"Familiar as in dangerous, or familiar as in backup?" Sakura asked.

"Familiar as in backup." They all turned as a voice they recognized said this, Neji falling to the ground from a tree-branch above them.

"That was fast." Kakashi said, impressed.

"The second we heard 'Naruto' and 'Akatsuki' in the same sentence, we were out the door." Sai said, appearing from the trees as well. Looking around, they realized a hell of a lot of people had appeared to help out. Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Sai, Konohamaru, Genma, Iruka, Domike, Takeshi, Shinji, Takako, and various others Sasuke didn't even know. There were a lot of adults there, too, and he recognized most of the Chuunin examiners. He couldn't help but smile, despite the circumstances. _Looks like Naruto has got more friends than even **he** knows. _

"Sand has been alerted. We'll probably meet up with Gaara on the way." Neji said as he began moving again, Sasuke following his lead.

"Good. We'll need all the help we can get." Sakura said. "These people are going to kill us all, more likely than not."

The large group of leaf shinobi made their way through the trees hurriedly before moving over the border into Wind Country. There, they ran into the Sand shinobi, Gaara, Temari and Kankurou waiting restlessly. They didn't know how to get to where the Akatsuki were, and they hadn't spotted Itachi with Naruto, so they could do nothing but wait.

Once they were all together, the large group made their way towards the Akatsuki's stronghold. Sasuke moved closer to Sakura as they went, trying to talk to her without anyone overhearing.

"Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

"If Naruto dies—are you going to use it?" The pink-haired girl turned to him.

"He's not going to die!" she snapped. "But if he does, then yes. I will use it."

"I don't want to lose you, too." Sasuke whispered, avoiding her gaze. "Let me do it."

"Let's make a deal." He turned to her. "Whoever finds him first will do it."

"Okay."

"But he's not going to die."

"I know." Sasuke whispered, feeling his heart clench. "He's not going to die."

* * *

Sasuke ran down the corridor as fast as he could, his heart pounding in his ears, blood dripping slowly down his face, and his wounds protesting the movement he was doing. Everyone else was fighting the Akatsuki, and he was the only one who'd managed to get past them and into the corridor that led to the room where Gaara had been when Shukaku had been extracted. 

So far, there had been no casualties on either side, but that didn't mean anything, really. Kakashi had been fighting Itachi the last time Sasuke had seen him, and Sasuke had hollered at his former sensei to kill him if he got the chance. Revenge was important to him, this was true, but he'd found out that friendship was worth so much more. Naruto was worth more than Itachi.

Sasuke reached the doors at the end of the corridor and he slammed into them full speed, stumbling slightly as they gave way easily. Fear gripped the raven as he entered the room, his eyes seeking his best friend. Naruto had brought him back from hell so many times Sasuke couldn't even begin to count them, and he'd be damned if he lost the dobe now.

"Naruto!" he called, as he looked around the room. He turned and focused on a large statue, looming ominously before him. At the base of the large statue lay a solitary figure. The blond hair was all Sasuke needed to know it was Naruto, and he bolted for his best friend.

"Naruto! Naruto, can you hear me?" he exclaimed as he skidded to a halt beside him, checking him over.

Had it happened? Was Kyuubi extracted? God, the dobe _better_ not have died on him, or Sasuke was going to find him in the afterlife and beat the unholy shit out of him! No, Naruto couldn't be dead. They'd arrived in time, he was fine. He _had_ to be!

Then why were Sasuke's hands shaking?

Why was Naruto lying so very, very still?

_Why wasn't he breathing?.!_

"Naruto!" Sasuke hollered in his face, pounding his fist on Naruto's chest. "Wake up!" Sasuke hit him again. "Wake up, dobe!" Sasuke began beating his chest furiously with both fists. "Fuck! _Wake up!_"

Sasuke panted, his fists clenched and resting on Naruto's chest. The blond didn't move. He didn't breathe. He just lay on the ground, his body getting colder. The raven knew there was only one thing he could do.

The Uchiha performed the seal Sakura had taught him, knowing this was the end for him. He wasn't going to let Naruto die.

"Become Hokage, dobe." He took a deep breath before lowering his hands towards Naruto's chest.

* * *

**A/N: And on THAT happy note... :sweatdrop:  
I felt I needed to explain the lack of action while they're all fighting with the Akatsuki. I started writing it out, but then I just deleted it all because it's really hard to write a fight scene involving people whose power you know, but don't know at the same time. Like Zetsu--what exactly does he do other than come in and out of the ground, and eat people? I didn't want to make things up when it involved the Akatsuki, so I decided not to have a fight scene there. I'm really sorry about that, but I just love the Akatsuki too much to insult them :sweatdrop:**


	17. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I thought that cloning Kiba would be a good way to steal the REAL Kiba from K. Masashi, but turns out he can tell the difference between the two... At least I got the clone... Small consolation...**

**Reminder: No pairings.**

* * *

Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:  
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'  
'_Naruto signing.'  
__Thoughts  
_"**Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."**

* * *

"_The voice tells us that the human race is greater than it knows."  
_- Napoleon Bonaparte.

**Seven years later.**

Sakura sat backwards in a chair in the Hokage's bedroom, resting her cheek against her hand to keep it propped up. One eyebrow was arched delicately as she watched the Hokage-to-be pace back and forth. Back and forth.

He'd been doing that since she arrived three hours ago, and hadn't stopped, not even for a second. The routine was the same. He would walk across the room, swerving around the table in the middle until he reached the opposite wall, and then turn back again.

Walk. Swerve. Pivot. Repeat.

She sighed, shaking her head. She knew why he was like this. She understood, too. She just wished she was enough to calm his nerves, but she knew no one could. Not the way _he_ could. But he wasn't there. He wouldn't _be_ there for him. Not this time.

It was the most important day of this man's life, and the one person who could calm him down and congratulate him wouldn't be there. She buried her face in her folded arms, sighing deeply. She wished there was something she could do, but there wasn't.

"Can you please stop pacing? You're giving me a headache. Just sit down."

"Hn." was the clipped reply. She sighed, shaking her head and whispering words she really knew should be kept to herself.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" For the first time since she arrived, the steps stilled and he stood in the middle of the room, unmoving. "About how he's not here."

"I need him." he whispered. "I can't do this without him."

"You can." the pink-haired woman insisted. "You know he would want you to."

"But I _can't_! I-I need him! I can't do this without him, he's the most important person to me!"

"And what am I?" Sakura asked, slightly hurt.

The man before her sighed, shaking his head. "You're just as important, and you know it. But—you're here. And he's not." He bit his lip. "He's just—not."

Sakura sighed as pain wrenched her chest. She wanted nothing more than to give this man what he wanted. She wanted to fetch his best friend and bring him here for this special day, but she couldn't. He would have to go through this without the one person he wanted most in the world to be there.

The doors suddenly slammed open, interrupting the two teammates as they turned, startled, to see who'd dared enter the Hokage-to-be's room without so much as knocking.

"Did I miss it?.! Am I too late?.!"

"Sasuke!" Naruto launched himself at the Uchiha, hugging him tightly. "You're back! You made it back in time! I was so scared you wouldn't be here!"

Sasuke smirked as he patted Naruto's back before forcing the blond to let him go. He tossed his head to the side, flicking black bangs from his eyes and smiled at his best friend.

"Dobe. I wouldn't miss the most important day in your idiotic life. After all, why would I want to miss the embarrassment you're undoubtedly going to put yourself through?" He smirked viciously and Naruto paled.

"Oh, God, what if I _do_ make a fool of myself?.!"

Sasuke's smile dropped immediately. He hadn't meant to freak the blond out, and now he knew he and Sakura were going to have to stop him from hyperventilating and skipping the inauguration altogether. _Shit,_ the Uchiha thought.

Sasuke then winced and hissed as he rubbed the back of his head, turning to glare at the one who'd hit him. He met black eyes with golden irises and black-slitted pupils, thankful he hadn't been hit harder since the person was more than capable of injuring him severely.

"Come, kit. It is almost time." Kyuubi stated as he ran one hand through his flaming red hair, regarding his used-to-be host.

"Kyuubi-jisan, I can't do this!" Naruto blurted out as he backed himself into a corner and sank to the ground, his hands buried in his hair. "I'll make a fool of myself and they'll change their minds!"

"Oh, good job, Uchiha." Sakura said exasperated. "All that work in calming him down because he didn't think you'd be here for his big day and you freak him out instead of making him feel better." The Uchiha laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Kit!" Kyuubi barked, annoyed. "I did not almost lose my life seven years ago to save you only to have you not follow through with your dream because this—whelp has frightened you!"

Sasuke smirked at Kyuubi's choice of word. Seven years in his own body and the demon _still_ couldn't think up better insults than a five year old.

"They have accepted you." Kyuubi reminded his somewhat son. "They have seen through the demon you used to possess and have accepted you as their future Hokage. To deny them this now would be an insult to them, and an insult to you. You worked too hard for this, kit, now get up and come! We must go!"

Whimpering pitifully, the blond stood up and left the room with Kyuubi, casting a nervous glance back at Sakura and Sasuke.

"He's still a little kid." Sakura smirked as she stood, putting her ANBU mask in place and Sasuke doing the same.

The two ANBU left the room and hurried to the base of Hokage Mountain, where everyone in the village was gathered. Sakura and Sasuke went to join the other ANBU, nodding to their friends and reassuring everyone that Naruto would come. Kyuubi was with him, after all.

Sasuke would never forget that day seven years ago when he was sure he'd lost Naruto for good. The blond had been dead. Completely and utterly dead. Kyuubi had been extracted, and when a demon was pulled from its vessel, the host died. Sasuke had screamed at Naruto. He'd pounded on his chest and hollered that he would be pissed if the stupid dobe didn't wake up. Nothing worked. Naruto was truly dead. Sasuke had been about to give his life for Naruto when he'd been interrupted.

That was when Sasuke believed in miracles. Something went wrong with the extraction of Kyuubi—probably Naruto or even the Kyuubi himself not wanting to separate—and Kyuubi never completely left Naruto's body to enter the large stone figure. Instead, it had turned into its own being, resembling a human, by all accounts. Sasuke had never been so terrified in his life when he'd been shoved to the side by the strange man in the cave that day. He was just so—different. He had tanned skin like Naruto, but his eyes were the most frightening things he'd ever seen. Where Sasuke's eyes were white, this being's eyes were black. Where his were black, this being's eyes were gold. And whereas Sasuke's pupils were round, this being's were slitted. His hair was long, falling past his shoulders in a straight curtain of red.

He was naked, but Sasuke hadn't concerned himself with this, mostly trying to get over his fear and shove the man away from his best friend. When the Kyuubi had turned to him and hissed, showing his long fangs, that was when Sasuke noticed the claw-like nails and froze. He didn't understand, and the Kyuubi had finally found enough time in between pouring chakra into the blond to explain he was the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He had attained a human form during the extraction, and was now depleting almost all his chakra to keep his former host alive.

"Why?" Sasuke had whispered, utterly confused.

"Because he is my kit. My son. I _will not _let him die!"

And so, he had kept his promise. Naruto hadn't died. He hadn't woken up for three months, but he'd survived.

Akatsuki had been wiped out that day, too. With all the Konoha shinobi present, and then Kyuubi charging out once Naruto was breathing again, their deaths were inevitable. Sasuke hadn't had the pleasure to kill Itachi, since Kyuubi had beat him to it, but he didn't mind so much anymore. He'd realized some things were more important than revenge. So he'd rushed back to Konoha with Naruto, instead.

And now, the blond was getting what he deserved. He was going to be Hokage.

The ceremony started the usual way. Tsunade gave a nice, long, boring speech about her duties as Hokage and why she'd chosen Naruto. His friends already knew all of this, so they effectively tuned her out and busied themselves with something else. Of course, the friends _not_ wearing ANBU masks were getting disapproving glares from various people whereas those _with_ ANBU masks could let their eyes wander freely with no fear of being caught.

Time passed, Tsunade called Naruto out and read him all the duties of the Hokage before the elders officially declared him the Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure.

Next came the fun part. Namely, people got to embarrass the hell out of him.

First, each ANBU had to bow before the new Hokage and swear an oath of allegiance. All of his friends ensured they added in little jokes of their own to their usual speech, all of them varying.

Kiba commented on how no matter how bad his farts were, he'd defend him to his last breath—provided the blond didn't fart in his face, which would effectively _cause_ his last breath.

Sakura had added in that even though he was annoying because he'd gotten his voice back, she would follow him and obey him—but swore she would rid him of his voice once more if she heard him scream "Sakura-chan" ever again.

As for Sasuke, well, he just made crude comments about how he could handle the moaning and groaning in bed, but Naruto would never be allowed to be seme. The blond had _not_ been expecting that and his first order as Hokage was Sasuke having to tell the entire village he was just joking and was a horny, perverted bastard. Sasuke did so, but still insisted Naruto couldn't be seme.

Naruto didn't know where this perverted side of the Uchiha came from, and he didn't care. He just knew he was going to kick Sasuke's ass in a spar later for saying something that was sure to spread false rumours. Naruto was still very much single and _incredibly straight_, thank you very much. (1)

Next, his senseis had come up to individually congratulate him. Iruka had been crying so much he'd been led away in the middle of his speech, he was so happy for the blond. Kakashi had merely told him he should start reading _Icha Icha Paradise_. Upon hearing this, Naruto promptly grabbed the closest copy to him and launched it at the annoying ANBU's head. Kakashi had caught it and realized he hadn't read that particular one, disappearing back into the crowd to do so.

Jiraiya was the next one to appear, talking mostly about Naruto's Sexy no Jutsu, which caused Naruto to bury his face in his hands. He knew everyone was going out of their way to embarrass him, and they were doing an _amazing_ job.

The last person to come forth was Tsunade herself, the Godaime, soon to be retired the second she ended the ceremony. But, the ceremony was not to end yet.

The blonde woman walked slowly towards Naruto, a box in her hands. Everyone watched curiously as she stopped before the boy who was like a son to her and, after placing the box on the ground, removed his Hokage hat. He looked ridiculous in it, anyway. She kissed his forehead before tying his hitai-ate around it. She then stepped back and silently proceeded to pull off his robes, exposing his black pants and white shirt underneath. All this was done in silence, Naruto utterly confused along with most of the crowd, but a few knew what was happening. They wholeheartedly approved.

Tsunade folded the robes in her hands and placed them on the ground beside Naruto, putting the Hokage hat overtop of the robes and then straightening again. She faced Naruto and lightly ran her fingers over the crystal necklace that dangled around his neck, smiling.

"One more time." she whispered.

"Sorry?" Naruto asked, confused.

"One more time. That was what I said when I gave you that necklace. The two before you died, never achieving their dream, but I'd decided one more time. I needed someone I knew wouldn't let me down. I needed someone to take this from me and prove to me that becoming Hokage wasn't an unattainable dream. I shouldn't have doubted it for a second. You _are_ his son, after all."

Now Naruto was _really_ confused. What the heck was she talking about?

"Tsunade-bachan?" he asked nervously. For some reason, he felt like he was being stripped of his title already, and he wasn't officially the Hokage yet! He felt sweat starting to trickle down his spine and resisted the urge to start bawling and demand to know why he wasn't being granted his dream when he'd come so close. Instead, he just stood there.

Tsunade moved away from him, bending down and resting her hands on the box she'd brought with her.

"One more time, and it paid off. I should've known, Arashi, that only your son could ever become as great as you." With those words and a confused frown on Naruto's face, the woman pulled off the lid before her and extracted what was within. She'd been saving it for years. She and Jiraiya together had been keeping it for Naruto to give to him one day when he was old enough. Instead, they got to do better. They got to give it to him when he fulfilled his dream.

With a smile, the woman pulled the Fourth's robes out of the box and walked behind Naruto, putting the white robes with red and orange flames onto the boy who was the son of the man who'd once worn these very robes.

Numerous people's jaws dropped, Sasuke's the hardest. For he knew what that was, and he knew what it meant. Only the adults smiled knowingly, approving of the action Tsunade had just taken.

Naruto himself stared down at the robes in awe. They were the Fourth's, that he knew, but why—

"Do you still not understand, Naruto?" Tsunade asked with a smile.

The Rokudaime couldn't open his mouth to voice his suspicions. They were just too—absurd!

"Are-are you telling me that..." he trailed off, his eyes widening with each word.

Tsunade smiled warmly and hugged him. "Your father would be proud you followed in his footsteps, brat. The Fourth probably wouldn't have had it any other way."

Naruto didn't even fight the tears that spilled over his lashes. His father was the Fourth. All these years, he'd sat above the Fourth's head on the Hokage Mountain, never even knowing that the head he sat upon belonged to his own father.

"Congratulations, kit." Kyuubi smiled from slightly behind him.

Naruto pulled free of Tsunade's grasp and turned to Kyuubi. "You knew!"

"Of course I knew." Kyuubi sniffed, slightly insulted. He crossed his arms and turned his head away. "He _sealed_ me in you, brat. It would've been hard for me _not_ to know."

"I'm going to kill you later for keeping this from me." Naruto grumbled before turning back to Tsunade. "And you, too. And Jiraiya. And Kakashi. And—heck, everyone who knew is going to go down!"

Tsunade just laughed as she shook her head before turning to the crowd.

"From this day forth, the Godaime Hokage has retired. Please welcome the new Uzumaki Era. Rokudaime Hokage, this village is yours."

Naruto smiled at those final words.

It was official. He was the Hokage. He was the protector of this village. People accepted him. Loved him. Worshipped him. He was no longer hated for something he couldn't control. He was complete.

He'd attained his dream.

**END.**

* * *

(1) Sasuke was teasing! They are NOT together! THERE ARE NO PAIRINGS!... I just thought I would remind everyone, so you don't accuse me of turning it into a yaoi. Sasuke was just trying to embarrass him.

* * *

**Woo hoo! I'm done another one! Hope you guys all liked it :) This is going to be my last Narutoverse one cause it was WAY harder than I thought it would be. AUs are so much easier, so I'm going to stick to those. Thanks for reading!**


End file.
